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The 1954 French flap:

The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.

Beginning of October, 1954, Vielmur-sur-Agout, Tarn:

Reference for this case: Beg-Oct-54-Vielmur.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The newspapers Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954 and La Dépêche du Midi for October 15, 1954, reported that in Vielmur-sur-Agout, Mr. Roger Ramond, city councilor and night watchman at the Société des Moulins de Vielmur, saw a mysterious craft in the sky at exactly 11:30 p.m.

He stated that on the hill located on the opposite slope of the Agout, at a distance of about 400 meters, there was an object having the shape of an elongated balloon, with a length of about 2 to 3 meters, a height of 1 to 1.5 meters. It was illuminated in an orange-red color, the clarity spreading over a radius of 20 meters, which allowed him to clearly distinguish the vine stumps located in the surroundings.

This lasted until 02:15 a.m., when the craft rose very slowly vertically and came to rest at a height of 20 to 30 meters for about ten seconds, then disappeared "like lightning" without leaving a trail.

Roger Ramond had visited the scene in the morning but found no trace, "the craft having landed on a passage of carts very trampled by the recent harvest."

In the newspaper Le Tarn Libre for October 22, 1954, the same thing was reported but with a date this time: October 12, 1954, which cannot be correct since Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954, had already reported the case.

Aimé Michel quoted the place and the date of October 12, 1954, without giving details in his 1958 book on the French wave of 1954. Guy Quincy gave the October 12 date but told of a "sphere" splitting in two, and "three dwarves"... Michel Carrouges, in 1963, gave only little information and dated the case at October 14, 1954. Then the case appeared in Jacques Vallée's catalog of "landings" in 1969, with the distance of 400 meters becoming 300 meters, curiously.

Garreau and Lavier, in 1974, gave the date of October 12, 1954 and an accurate summary, but without sources. Figuet and Ruchon in 1979 published an accurate summary, with Sud-Ouest for 12 October 1954 as a source, and dating the case from the same day.

In his "Francat" catalog in 1985, Michel Figuet still gives October 12, 1954, as the date, speaks of a "close encounter" - at 400 meters... - but evokes without specifying a "possible confusion."

There will be many other more or less succinct summaries later, but without additional information.

Reports:

[Ref. sot1:] NEWSPAPER "SUD-OUEST":

[Ref. dmi1:] NEWSPAPER "LA DEPECHE DU MIDI":

[Ref. ltl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE TARN LIBRE":

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel mentions the case in relation to others but does not provide specifics.

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:

[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:

Michel Carrouges mentions that the incident reported by Mr. Ramond occurred on October 14, 1954, and happened in Vielmur-du-Tarn and not Villemur near Fronton. It lasted 2 hours 3/4.

[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

The author indicates that on October 12, 1954, little before midnight, Roger Ramond, watcher in Vielmur in the Tarn, saw a great light and noticed an oval object which landed within approximately 300 meters of him. The U.F.O. had the appearance of an orange crimson balloon and illuminated the vineyard of a light violet. It remained there nearly three hours, then took a vertical position, rose slowly, stopped within 30 meters of the ground during a few seconds and finally flew away at a dazing speed.

[Ref. jve3:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:

Indicating newspaper clippings and personal files as references, the two ufologists report in their book the case of Vielmur-sur-Agout, Tarn, of October 12, 1954 at about 23:30:

Mr. Roger Ramond, the night watchman of the Company of the Mills of Vielmur has his attention drawn, during a round, by a machine resembling "an elongated balloon," of orange red color, landed on the slope on a hill, on the other side of Agout. Mr. Ramond estimates that it was approximately 3 meters long, and 1,50 m in height. Consequently, the night watchman does not quit the object with the eyes anymore, and this during three hours, during which the machine eerily illuminates the vineyard.

Then, the object rises slowly, hovers during a few seconds at three hundred meters above the ground, and then rushes away in the sky at a fantastic speed.

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET ET JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors indicate that in Vielmur-sur-Agout in the department of Tarn on October 12, 1954 at 11:30 p.m., Roger Ramond, night watchman and city council man, observed an ovoid object of orange color of two to three meter length and one meter to one meter fifty in height.

The object moved on the hill located on the opposite slope of the river Agout where the Moulins company of Vielmur is located. It spread a clearness of violet color on a radius of 20 meters and this allowed to distinguish all the details very clearly. The appearance lasted up to 02:15 of the next day's morning.

The object then rose very slowly vertically, to hover motionless at a height from 20 to 30 meters during ten seconds. It then "disappeared like a flash."

The sources are noted as: "case 247 of the Vallée catalogue; C. Garreau and R. Lavier in "Face aux ET" page 112; La Dépêche du Midi for October 15, 1954; Quincy; Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954."

[Ref. mft3:] MICHEL FIGUET:

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

This ufologist noted:

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on October 12, in France in Vielmur, Roger Raymond, night watchman, saw at 11:30 p.m. "a great light and noticed an oval object which lands 300 m further. It resembled a balloon of a fiery orange and illuminated the vineyard during nearly 3 hours (until 02:15 on 10/13/54) then, taking a vertical position, it rose slowly, hovered during a few seconds at 30 m above ground-level and took off at a fantastic speed."

She indicates that the sources are "Sud-Ouest, 12 Oct 1954" and "Jacques Vallée: 'Chronique des apparitions ET' - DENOEL 1972 - J'AI LU COLL. - p. 279".

[Ref. dgz3:] DIDIER GOMEZ:

Didier Gomez lists this case by indicating that on October 12, 1954, at 11:30 p.m., in Vielmur-sur-Agout in the Tarn, a witness sees an oval orangeish object during 2 hours 45.

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

[Ref. dgz1:] DIDIER GOMEZ:

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

The source is indicated as "Sud-Ouest, October 12, 1954".

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Tarn in Vielmur sur Agout on October 12, 1954 at 23:30 hours "a night watchman observes an ovoid object of orange color from two to three meter in length by one meter to one meter fifty in height. The latter moves on the hill located on the opposite slope of the [river] Agout where there is the Moulins company of Vielmur. It spreads a luminosity on a radius of 20 meters of violet color and which makes it possible to distinguish all the details very clearly. The appearance lasts until 02:15 the following day. Then it rises very slowly vertically to immobilize itself at a height from 20 to thirty meters during ten seconds. It then disappears like a flash."

The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 12 October 1954 at 23:30, "Roger Ramond, a night watchman, saw a great light and noticed an oval object land 300 meters away in Vielmur, France. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 meters above the ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed."

The website adds: "Roger Ramond, a night watchman saw a great light and noticed an oval object which landed 300 meters away. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly three hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 meters above ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed."

And: "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One orange oval object was observed by one male military witness on a farm for three hours (Ramond; Stramare)."

The source is indicated as "Vallee Magonia Database".

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 12 October 1954 at 23:30 in Vielmur-sur-Agout, France, "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One object was observed by one male military witness on a farm for three hours."

The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded this case 7 times:

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

Explanations:

There is a big problem with the date: the case takes place between 11:30 p.m. and 2:15 a.m., and first appeared in Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954.

It cannot therefore have taken place on October 12, 1954. Let us add that the day after the sighting the witness went to the "landing" spot, and even October 11, 1954, seems a bit early.

The newspaper Sud-Ouest did not cover the Tarn department; which suggests that there would probably have been a local and previous press source in the Tarn published before October 12, 1954.

In reality, therefore, there is no reliable date, in any case October 12, 1954 and October 14, 1954 are not possible dates.

Regarding the observation, the beginning could make think of a low Moon, but the duration seems too long. It would also have taken something that would have come "up", a meteor coming from the distant horizon, at the end of a moon setting at 02:15 a.m. It hardly seems credible to me.

There is no clear direction. However, we are told that the "craft" was on a hill located "on the opposite slope of the Agout":

The direction suggests that the "craft" was roughly to the south. And Vielmur-sur-Agout is on flat ground while there is indeed a hill to the south just after the bridge:

Roger Emile Ramond passed in 1975.

The case has not been investigated as far as I now now; which does not make it a very "good" case.

On October 10, 1954 at 2 a.m., the Moon is at 238°; it sets at 4:41 a.m., and it is a full moon. On the 9th at 2 a.m., it was at 244°, it set at 03:26. On the 8th, it was at 249° and set at 02:13 a.m. On the 7th, it was at 254° but already set at 01:03 a.m.

We can therefore see that in the plausible dates of October 10, 9 or 8, 1954, the Moon is not exactly in the South but towards the South-West, it is a full Moon, and it is setting. Since there is the hill, it can appear to be setting before the actual time of passage behind a flat horizon. We cannot therefore completely exclude the Moon.

On the other hand, I have so far found no clue of a meteor passing in the region around 02:15 a.m., which would have explained the last phase of the observation.

I therefore classify the case as an "unidentified" but of low reliability for lack of investigation.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Vielmur-sur-Agout, Tarn, Roger Ramond, Roger Raymond, guard, balloon, object, elongated, purple, red, orange, hill, duration, luminous, stationary, fast

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

• [sot1] Article in the regional newspaper Sud-Ouest, France, October 12, 1954.
• [dmi1] Article in the regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi, France, October 15, 1954.
• [ltl1] Article in the regional newspaper Le Tarn Libre, Albi, Tarn, France, October 22, 1954.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Arthaud publisher, France, 1958.
• [aml1] "Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery", book by Aimé Michel, English version of "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", S.G. Phillips publisher, USA, 1958.
• [gqy1] "Observations 1954", monograph by Guy Quincy, France - Algeria, private publication, page 16, the 1950's.
• [gqy2] "Atterrissages au XXe siècle", monograph by Guy Quincy, France - Algeria, private publication, unnumbered pages, the 1950's.
• [mcs1] "Les Apparitions de Martiens, book by Michel Carrouges (aka Louis Couturier), Fayard publisher, France, pages 81,167, 1963.
• [jve8] "A Descriptive Study of the Entites Associated with the Type 1 Sighting", article by Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Flying Saucer Review (FSR), U-K., Volume 10, #1, page 8, January / February 1964.
• [jve5] "Catalogue préliminaire de 500 observations", listing in "Les Phénomènes Insolites de l'Espace", book by Jacques and Janine Vallée, Table Ronde publisher, France, 1966.
• [jve1] "Un Siècle d'Atterrissages", catalogue by Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans la Nuit (LDLN), France, #103, page 4, December 1969.
• [aml1] "A Propos des Soucoupes Volantes", book by Aimé Michel, reprint of "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", Planète publishers, France, 1966.
• [jve3] "Passport to Magonia - On Ufos, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publishers, USA, 1969.
• [jve2] Summary by Jacques Vallée in "The Humanoids: A Survey of World-Wide Reports of Landings of Unconventional Aerial Objects and their Alleged Occupants", book by Charles Bowen, Neville Spearman publishers, U-K., 1969.
• [jve3] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-Terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, Denoël publisher, France, page 301, 1972.
• [jve3] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-Terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, J'ai Lu publisher, France, page 279, 1974.
• [jve2] Summary by Jacques Vallée in "En Quête des Humanoïdes", book by Charles Bowen, French translation of "The Humanoids", J'ai Lu publisher, France, page 52, 1974.
• [gal1] "Face Aux Extra-Terrestres", book by Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Delarge publisher, France, pp 111-112, 1975.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Seghers publishers, France, page 225, 1976.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Robert Laffont publishers, France, page 225, 1976.
• [prn1] "The Catalogue", catalogue compiled by Peter Rogerson, in the ufology bulletin MUFOB, U-K., New Series #3, page 9, Summer 1976.
• [jve5] "Catalogue préliminaire de 500 observations", listing in "Les Phénomènes Insolites de l'Espace", book by Jacques and Janine Vallée, Robert Laffont publisher, France, page 250, 1978.
• [fru1] "OVNI, Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France", book by Michel Figuet and Jean Louis Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publisher, France, pp 157-158, 1979.
• [mft3] "ATTERRISSAGES D'UFO sur le continent français du 26 septembre 1954 au 18 octobre 1954", lis by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #249-250, page 27, March / April 1985.
• [mft1] "Catalogue Francat des rencontres rapprochées en France (Listing 800 1982) (2 - Suite)", list compiled by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #257-258, page 19, November / December 1985.
• [----] "Computerized Catalog", compiled by Luis Schoenherr.
• [lhh1] "*U* Computer Database", database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
• [goe1] "Chronologie OVNI", web page compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 2003, at users.skynet.be/sky84985/afin54.htm
• [dgz3] "Catalogue des Apparitions répertoriées sur le Tarn", list compiled by Didier Gomez, in his ufology magazine UFOmania. France, page 7, Autumn 2003.
• [djn1] "Encounters With Aliens On This Day", written by Donald A. Johnson, Ph.D., compiled from the UFOCAT 2003 computer database, www.ufocat.com.
• [dgz1] "Dans le Tarn - La grande vague de l’automne 1954", article par Didier Gomez, dans son magazine d'0ufologie UFOmania, France, N° 41, page 12, automne 2004.
• [jbu1] "Mardi 12 octobre 1954", web page by Jérôme Beau, France, RR0 website, circa 2006, at www.rr0.org/data/1/9/5/4/10/12/index.html
• [lcn1] Base OVNI France, website by Luc Chastan, France, circa 2005, at baseovnifrance.free.fr/detobs.php?numobs=900
• [uda1] "12 Oct 1954 - Vielmur, France", web page at the UFOdna website, circa 2007, at www.ufodna.com/uf18/uf9/189121.htm
• [uda2] "12 Oct 1954 - Vielmur-sur-Agout, France", web page at the UFOdna website, circa 2007, at www.ufodna.com/uf02/uf2/022655.htm
• [nip1] List on The NICAP Website, USA, found in 2014, at http://www.nicap.org/reports/1954_ufocat.htm
• [ubk1] Online database UFO-Datenbank, Germany, found in 2016, at ufodatenbank.de
• [prn2] "INTCAT 1954", catalogue compiled by Peter Rogerson, U-K., circa 2016, at https://intcat.blogspot.com/search?q=1954

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This page was last updated on June 25, 2022.