The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Apr-54-Flavigny-sur-Ozerain.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
This case appears in the ufology magazine Phénomènes Spatiaux, by the ufology association GEPA, France, in #8 for June 1966.
One of their correspondents, Mr. Hervé Marec, explains that the article on a case in Bolazec published in Phénomènes Spatiaux had been republished by the magazine Noir et Blanc, and that this magazine had then received from a reader of the Côtes-d'Or department, a letter in which this person claimed to have seen in April 1954 a square-shaped saucer - as in Bolazec.
Hervé Marec had communicated that letter to Phénomène Spatiaux:
"4-5-66 Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Côte d'Or"
"Sir,"
"I send these lines to you to tell you my surprise by reading your N.1094 of "Noir et Blanc" for February 1966."
"The flying saucer of Brittany is not an innovation, for in April 1954, my husband and myself, while returning towards 5 p.m. of a botanical excursion, were very surprised, and almost terrified, whereas the sky were very clear, very calm weather and nobody in the countryside above the mountain, within 500 meters of the first farm of the village."
"I was about 8 meters in front of my husband, and suddenly, without having seen or heard anything, a true railroad crash."
"I turn myself back and I see my husband under an enormous square mass of iron stopped 3 meters above him. As I was a little ahead, I saw very well lines of iron, and no wheels, no window - it is true that it was broad daylight, I did not have time to say a word to my husband that all was already disappeared, without any noise, and not more visible than when it came upon us."
"It was the day, we were less afraid than if it had happened in the night. Please believe that we were quite shaken."
"Then, as the file of the flying saucers had remained opened, I believed I did well in telling you about the thing. Now I am the only one to have seen this thing, for my husband died 5 years ago, but my children were informed and, as soon as they saw your article, I received the issue and I recognized very well the thing of 12 years ago, it is exactly similar."
"If my letter importunes you, I apologize... on next June 15, I will enter my 80 years."
"with my best regards."
"Mrs Georges Desplantes, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Côte d'Or."
[Ref. psx1:] "PHENOMENES SPATIAUX", GEPA:
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But, by a letter of May 6, 1966, Mr. Hervé Marec, to whom we announced the incident of Bolazec and which cooperates in a friendly way with us, taught us that following the article on Bolazec, published by "Noir et Blanc", this magazine had received from a reader of the Côte-d'Or a letter in which this person affirmed to have seen in April 1954 a square saucer. Mr. Hervé Marec readily authorized us to reproduce this letter that he had obligingly communicated us. It is, as one will see, a rather astonishing document:
"4-5-66 Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Côte d'Or"
"Sir,"
"I send these lines to you to tell you my surprise by reading your N.1094 of "Noir et Blanc" for February 1966."
"The flying saucer of Brittany is not an innovation, for in April 1954, my husband and myself, while returning towards 5 p.m. of a botanical excursion, were very surprised, and almost terrified, whereas the sky were very clear, very calm weather and nobody in the countryside above the mountain, within 500 meters of the first farm of the village."
"I was about 8 meters in front of my husband, and suddenly, without having seen or heard anything, a true railroad crash."
"I turn myself back and I see my husband under an enormous square mass of iron stopped 3 meters above him. As I was a little ahead, I saw very well lines of iron, and no wheels, no window - it is true that it was broad daylight, I did not have time to say a word to my husband that all was already disappeared, without any noise, and not more visible than when it came upon us."
"It was the day, we were less afraid than if it had happened in the night. Please believe that we were quite shaken."
"Then, as the file of the flying saucers had remained opened, I believed I did well in telling you about the thing. Now I am the only one to have seen this thing, for my husband died 5 years ago, but my children were informed and, as soon as they saw your article, I received the issue and I recognized very well the thing of 12 years ago, it is exactly similar."
"If my letter importunes you, I apologize... on next June 15, I will enter my 80 years."
"with my best regards."
"Mrs Georges Desplantes, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Côte d'Or."
There is no reason to doubt the testimony of Mrs. Desplantes who deserves warmly to be thanked for the spontaneous contribution that she brings to a difficult research. She recognizes in the saucer of Bolazec the object that she and her husband saw. One can note however a difference: the "saucer" of Mrs. Desplantes made a violent noise, whereas that of Mr. Coquil remained strangely silent. But Mrs. Desplantes still tells us that, having appeared noisily, her saucer disappeared silently, which gives reason for thinking that this saucer could be completely similar to that of Bolazec.
[Ref. fsr1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "FLYING SAUCER REVIEW":
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From Phénomènes Spatiaux (Paris), No. 8 (June 1966),
page 15
(EDITOR: RENE FOUERE.)
(Translation from French) (Precis)
Flavigny sur-Ozerain,
Cote d'Or
May 4, 1966
Dear Sir,
In April 1954, my husband and I were coming home at about 5.00 p.m. from a botanical outing in the mountains. The sky was very clear, and the weather fine and calm, and there was nobody to be seen anywhere around, up there, at a spot some 500 meters from the nearest house, the first farm in the village. I was walking about eight metres in front of my husband. We had neither seen nor heard the slightest thing when, to our very great surprise and, indeed, fear, we heard a noise just like a train being derailed.
I looked back, and saw that my husband was beneath an enormous square iron mass, stationary just three metres above his head. I saw no windows, no wheels, but iron ridges... And it was broad daylight. I didn't have time to utter a word to my husband, and then suddenly it had vanished, and there was nothing more to be seen.
Had it been night time and not broad daylight, I can tell you we would have been even more scared. And, I beg you to believe me, it fairly shook us both up...
Yours sincerely,
Mme. Georges Desplantes
[Ref. cpr1:] CLAUDE POHER, UFO RESEARCH GROUP "GEPA":
In 1968-1969, before the official GEPAN ufology effort started, its future head Dr. Claude Poher was a member of the unofficial GEPA ufology group, and gathered a computer coded listing of more than 700 UFO reports on which multiple factors statistical computation could be run. In the file were a number of 1954 French UFO reports, among those this one.
For readability, a decoded interpretation of the data is provided here under the original 80 character encoded string. Decoding was done according to the original indications, the code number and its generic meaning is given. Please not that the generic meaning of each code is a predefined category, not the real specific details of the case. For example, if the main witness' age was 33, the coding would result in a number "3" which corresponds to a category "Adult from 21 to 59 years."
| Original code: | 0143080004195417001IA2108001010017AA0A000010089000000000000000000000000000010000 |
|---|---|
| Location: | Flavigny sur Ozerain (Côte-d'Or) - France |
| Case number: | 0143 |
| Source code: | 08 |
| Nature of the source: | GEPA Bulletin 08 |
| Day: | ? |
| Month: | 04 |
| Year: | 1954 |
| Hours: | 17 |
| Minutes: | 00 |
| Type of Time: | 1 = local time |
| Number of witnesses: | 2 = 2 |
| Main witness named: | 1 = name(s) indicated |
| Main witness age: | 0 = no indication |
| Main witness occupation: | 8 = researchers, professors, meteorologists |
| Official investigation: | 0 = no indication |
| Weather: | 1 = beautiful weather, clear sky, no clouds |
| Duration: | 0 = no indication |
| Minimal distance witness - phenomenon: | 1 = lower than 10 meters |
| Method of observation: | 0 = no indication |
| Number of "objects" observed simultaneously: | 01 = 1 |
| Shape of the "object" (terminology of witness(es)): | A = a dot, star, "big planet" |
| Dimensions of the phenomenon: | AA = |
| Color of the observed phenomenon: | 00 = no indication |
| Luminosity of the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Lights or projectors on the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Moving speed of the phenomenon: | 1 = motionless |
| Acceleration of the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Trajectory of the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Sounds perceived during observation: | 8 = Various generally heavy noises |
| Maximum angular height of observation (horizon = 0°): | 9 = "seen on ground" or "close to the ground" |
| Nature of the landing place: | 0 = no indication |
| Number of contact points with ground: | 0 = no indication |
| Traces of landing: | 0 = no indication |
| Observation of "occupants": | 0 = no indication |
| Height of the occupants observed: | 00 = no indication |
| Garment of the occupants: | 00 = no indication |
| Garment: | 0 = no indication |
| General behavior of "occupants": | 0 = no indication |
| Interaction of "occupants" with witness: | 0 = no indication |
| Head, hair: | 0 = no indication |
| Voice, breathing, chin: | 0 = no indication |
| Skin: | 0 = no indication |
| Eyes: | 0 = no indication |
| Mouth: | 0 = no indication |
| Various details: | 0 = no indication |
| Thermal effects: | 0 = no indication |
| Luminous effects: | 0 = no indication |
| Magnetic effect (or electromagnetic): | 0 = no indication |
| Odor perceived by witness: | 0 = no indication |
| Physiological effects on the witness(es): | 0 = no indication |
| Psychological effect on the witness(es): | 0 = no indication |
| Effects on animals: | 0 = no indication |
| Other effects reported: | 0 = no indication |
| Nebulosity: | 0 = no indication |
| Oscillations, emission of matter: | 0 = no indication |
| Spin, formation flight: | 0 = no indication |
| Immediate disappearance: | 1 = "sudden" appearance or disappearance. (NB : with or without explosion noise). |
| Halo surrounding the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Interaction witness / phenomenon (complement to the other rubrics): | 0 = no indication |
| Drawing or photo: | 0 = no indication |
| Structural details observed: | 0 = no indication |
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 04 00 54 ( ) | Flavigny | 600X1V | YB |
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| CAS Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HEURE | LIEU | CODE POSTAL | CREDIBILITE SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47a | CE0 | .. 04. 1954 | v 17 h | Flavigny-sur Ozerain | 21150 B3 | NI [= Non ientifié.] R.S. [= Renseignements succincts.] récit |
[Ref. jmd1:] JOEL MESNARD:
Dans le contexte de son enquête sur le cas de Bois-de-Champ, Joël Mesnard évoque l'observation de Flavigny:
Cette observation eut lieu à Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, en Côte-d'Or. On en trouve un bref exposé, de la plume de l'un des deux témoins, Mme Desplantes, dans le numéro 8 (juin 1966) de la revue "Phénomènes Spatiaux" (1). Cette dame ne vit qu'un court instant un objet qui était subitement apparu, trois mètres au-dessus de son mari, dans un bruit "de déraillement de chemin de fer".
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
The reader will find in this appendix several extremely interesting cases in different respects, which demonstrate without question that the wave of 1954 developed many patterns in its course, some of which have completely escaped the researchers, in particular concerning possible "abductions".
[...other cases...]
D.O. 89 - Flavigny-$ur-Ozerain, Côte-d'Or, April 1954.
Case of a square flying saucer, which shows that the one seen on January 16, 1966 by Mr. Eugène Coquil in Bolazec, Finistère, was not the first of its kind...
[...other cases...]
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the "Côte d'or" in Flavigny sur Ozerain in April 1954 at 17:00, "Two witnesses of scientific formation, observed at a distance of less than ten meters an object in the form of a huge right-angled parallelepiped. It was motionless on the level of the ground making rather strong noises."
The source is indicated as "Les Universons by Poher Claude ** http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/universons/".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that in April 1954 at 17:00 in "Flavigny.Ozerain", France, "One object was observed by two witnesses (Desplantes)."
The sources are indicated as "Poher, Claude, Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Temoignag, Author, undated" and "GEPA, Phenomenes Spatiaux".
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
In broad daylight Near Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, a couple, on botanical tour, meets a huge square and metallic mass which stands 1 s above their heads before vanishing (12).
(12) Marey, George: "Dans notre ciel et sur notre sol" in "Soucoupes Volantes", Forces Aériennes Françaises (revue Mensuelle de l'Armée de l'Air) #245, March 1968.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540400 | 00.04.1954 | Flavigny Ozerain | France | 17.00 | ||||||
| 19540400 | 00.04.1954 | Flavigny Ozerain | France | 17.00 |
[Ref. aln1:] ALAIN LEQUIEN:
The author indicates that in Flavigny sur-Ozerain, at an unspecified date of April 1954, around 5 p.m., witnesses of scientific training saw within 10 meters an object in the shape of a huge rectangular parallelepiped, stationary at ground level and making loud enough noises like a truck.
The author indicates that no official investigation was carried out and that the source is the book by Claude Poher.
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This is only a letter, with apparently no effort to investigate the author.
It sounds a bit "fishy" that the couple on botanic tour is named "Desplantes"...
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(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Côte-d'Or, Desplantes, multiple, close, star, noise, weather
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 21, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 5, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | September 25, 2014 | Additions [fsr1], [jbu1]. In the explanations, addition of "This is only a letter, with apparently no effort to investigate the author" and "It sounds a bit "fishy" that the couple on botanic tour is named 'Desplantes'..." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | February 5, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | August 10, 2019 | Additions [mft1], [jmd1], Summary. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | February 11, 2021 | Addition [aln1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | March 31, 2022 | Addition [gep1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | June 27, 2022 | Addition [jsr1]. |
