ALSACAT:

ALSACAT is my comprehensive catalog of UFO sighting reports in Alsace, the region is the North-East of France, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ALSACAT catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file. A general index and thematic sub-catalogs give access to these Alsatian case files.

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Case of Mulhouse, on July 24, 1952:

Case number:

ALSACAT-07-24-1952-MULHOUSE-1

Summary:

In the 1970s, Mrs. Gueudelot, archivist of the ufology magazine "Lumières Dans La Nuit", collected information sent to her by local correspondents. One of the cases that was the subject of a file was said to come from the regional newspaper l'Alsace for July 27-28, 1952, about an observation in Mulhouse on July 24, 1952 at 9:15 p.m.

One Mrs. Schaller, living on rue de Nancy, near the Mulhouse cemetery, reportedly declared having seen a "flying saucer" which crossed the sky, "like a blazing red moon", and which left behind it "a long incandescent wake."

The newspaper also received a phone call from the director of a Mulhouse company, living in the same district, who said he had seen a red line across the sky.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	July 24, 1952
Time:	09:15 p.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	July 27, 1952
Reporting delay:	Minutes, 1 or 2 days.

Geographical data:

Department:	Haut-Rhin
City:	Mulhouse
Place:	Nancy street in city in Mulhouse.
Latitude:	47.751
Longitude:	7.340
Uncertainty radius:	400 m.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	2
Number of known witnesses:	2
Number of named witnesses:	1
Witness(es) ages:	Adults or aged.
Witness(es) types:	Female and male residents independently.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	The regional Press.
Type of location:	City.
Visibility conditions:	Night.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
Entities:	No.
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	Puzzled.
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Hynek:	NL
ALSACAT:	Probable contrail.

Sources:

[Ref. aldl:] MRS. GUEUDELOT, "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT" ARCHIVE:

JULY 24, 1952.-

MULHOUSE. - (67) [sic]

Hour: 09:15 p.m..

Mrs. SCHALLER, residing rue de Nancy, in the district of Metzau, near the cemetery saw a "flying saucer" crossing the sky, like a blazing red moon. It left behind her a long incandescent wake.

By telephone, the director of a Mulhouse company, living in the same district, informed the newspaper that he had seen a red line crossing the sky.

"L'ALSACE" for JULY 27.28, 1952. page 3

(search by Mr. Mourier)

Discussion:

Mrs. Schaller's description resembles that of a meteor, of course.

But the other testimony speaks of a "red line across the sky", which makes me think more of the contrail of a jet plane, lit by the setting sun.

Moreover, the next case, 10 minutes later, would confirm this explanation.

Evaluation:

Probable contrail.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[lae1] ? Article in the regional newspaper L'Alsace, France, page 3, July 27-28, 1952.
[ald1] * Record in the archive by Mrs. Gueudelot, of the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, not dated, published circa 2020 by the ufology association SCEAU, France, at https://sceau-archives-ovni.org/fonds/fond_gueudelot/base_guy_jpr_fiches_gueudelot.html

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	August 4, 2023	Creation, [ald1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	August 4, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on August 4, 2023.