The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Oct-54-55-Louhans.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
An investigation report by Pierre Dumont, regional delegate field ufologist of LDLN, published in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #181 of January 1979, reports an observation in Louhans in the district "Le Guidon" crossed by the RN 396 leading in Dijon, department of Saône-et-Loire, having taken place in October 1954 or 1955, around 9 p.m.
The witness, Mr. Edward P., who asked to remain anonymous, was at the time a retired market gardener, "very interested in the UFO phenomenon." Certain of what he saw he will remember it "to his grave."
The night was completely dark, without a moon, when Mr. P. came out of his house on a small height from where he overlooked a road, some houses, meadows and his garden. In his yard, he satisfied a natural need, when all of a sudden he was surprised by the apparition of a violent light of red color and round shape, which lit in a maize field below at about 800 meters.
Worried and completely distraught, he still had time to react, and took the opportunity to hide behind one of the corners of his house. Taking courage and curiosity helping, he looked again at the unusual light, surely very powerful since a house at 250 m or 300 m was completely illuminated.
He told Pierre Dumont:
"It looked like a luminous globe like we still find in some kitchen as lighting. The second time when I looked, I saw the light rising slowly without noise, but causing a strong swirl of air since a nearby bush had the leaves completely crushed by this breath. "
"For a moment, it made me feel like It was rushing at me, but no, it was going up in a straight line, gaining speed, red it was turning white, leaving behind a sort of black, then white trail."
On Pierre Dumont's questioning, he explains that the light disappeared simply by becoming smaller and smaller, and that the only other thing he noticed is that it seemed to him, but he is not sure, that under this ball, as if suspended, there was a black mass.
He could not give any precision as to the diameter of this ball because it happened so long ago.
Maize at the landing site was crushed and burned; one of Mr. P.'s friends, Mr. Rougeot, had it analyzed, but he died and no one knows the results.
Pierre Dumont noted that there is a railway line at 500 meters, and at 50 meters from the position of the witness, there is the water tower of the city of Louhans. He made this map of the location:
[Ref. pdt1:] PIERRE DUMONT - LDLN:
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by M. Pierre DUMONT
regional delegate
DATE: October 1954 or 1955
PLACE: LOUHANS (Saône et Loire) district "Le Guidon" crossed by the N 396 leading to Dijon.
WITNESS: Mr. P. Edouard (anonymity requested) pensioneer, then market gardener, very interested in the U.F.O. phenomenon. Certain of what he saw and will remember it "to his grave."
THE FACTS:
Around 9 p.m., on a completely black night, without a moon, Mr. P leaves his house on a small height from where he dominates, a road, some houses, meadows and his garden, he finds himself in his yard where, there, he satisfies a natural need, when suddenly he is surprised by the apparition of a violent light of red color, and round shape, which lit in a maize field below at about 800 meters.
Worried and completely distraught, he still has time to react, and takes the opportunity to hide behind one of the corners of his house. Then taking courage, and curiosity helping, the witness looks again at the unusual light, surely very powerful, since a house at 250 m or 300 m is completely illuminated.
The witness says:
- "It looked like a luminous globe like we still find in some kitchen as lighting. The second time when I looked, I saw the light rising slowly without noise, but causing a strong swirl of air, since a nearby bush had the leaves completely crushed by this breath.
For a moment, it gave me the impression of rushing to me. But no, it was going up in a straight line, gaining speed, red it was turning white, leaving behind it a kind of black and then white trail.
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- How did the light disappear?
- Simply by getting smaller and smaller.
- Have you noticed anything else?
- It seemed to me, but I'm not sure, that below this ball as if suspended, was a black mass, but I cannot tell you more."
No precision as to the diameter of this ball (so long ago).
TRACES:
The maize at the landing site was crushed and burned, one of Mr. P.'s friends Mr. ROUGEOT had an analysis done, but he died, and no one knows the results.
INVESTIGATION COMPLEMENT:
At 500 m a railway line
At 50 m, from the position of the witness, the water tower of the city of LOUHANS.
Note: the following two observations in Louhans reported to Pierre Dumont came from other witnesses, and were from 1975 and 1978.
Larger version of the map:
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[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
Ufologist and author Jean Sider informs that the ufology magazine "Lumières dans la Nuit" #191, indicates that in October of 1954 or 1955, at 09:00 p.m., in Louhans in the Saone-et-Loire department, Mr. Edouard P. is in his court in the district "Le Guidon" when he sees a powerful light coming from the cornfield 800 meters downwards. The light illuminates perfectly a house located at 250 or 350 meters.
The light proves to be a luminous sphere when it rises without noise while generating a strong swirl of air. It seems there is a mass suspended on the lower part of it.
On the site, the corn was crushed and burned.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3839: 1954/09/26 02:30 5 5:13:00 E 46:37:00 N 3333 WEU FRN S&L 6:8
nr LOUHANS,FR:DOMED CYL by RR TRACKS:YLW LITE SHINES/OPENING:/r8#179+/r30p107
Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 38 : ROAD+RAILS
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More realistic reconstitution of the location map:
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North is up on my map, as always. The "N 396 leading to Dijon" is now the Departmental Road 978, yellow line on the map. The witness is 50 meters north of the water tower, in his garden, somewhere in the green circle.
The railway is the black line. No direction of observation was given. I can just say that if the luminous ball was 800 meters from the witness, it was somewhere on the red circle, and since the ball was on the ground in a maize field, it might have been between the north east and southeast of the witness.
I do not understand, from the position of the witness, how he could have seen the ball on the ground in the East, there are too much obstacles to sight for such a precise location. The house of the witness, and the other houses around at 50 meters from the water tower, are slightly on a rise, but the surface of the fields on the east side is not visible, it s hidden by curtains of trees, houses. One could certainly think that these trees and houses were not there in 1954-1955, but it seems doubtful to me given the size of the trees and the appearance of the houses.
So I think that if it were there on the East, the ball was not actually seen on the ground, but was probably seen a little above the ground.
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Above: example of view to the East (2019).
Only one other possibility remains: about 313°, almost to the north, between two forests, behind the obstacle of buildings that might not have existed in 1954-1955 - green arrow below:
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This would place the ball in the direction of the road to Dijon and the railway, both opposite the witness, and possible sources of misinterpretations.
But I do not think it was possible to see leaves of a bush blown by the ball that would have been 800 meters away. It would have caused a storm to shake a bush close enough for the witness to perceive this in the dark night.
I do not think that a link can be made between the ball and the "traces", because nothing allows to locate these traces from the point of view of the witness who says to have been 800 meters, almost a kilometer, away.
The case remains an "unidentified" for me, but I have too much doubt about the reliability of the reported data to go beyond this assessment.
(Silent, it was not a helicopter; the description is poorly suited for the moon or a meteor, without a precise date the moon or meteor cannot be checked out, etc.)
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Louhans, Saône-et-Loire, night, light, field, yard, globe, ball, luminous, silent, air, airflow, mass, landing, trace, burnt, flattened, corn
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 15, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 1, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | November 17, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
