ALSACAT-1956-08-15-MULHOUSEDORNACH-1
The press of the time reported that on Wednesday, August 15, at 21:30, a Gendarmerie captain saw in the Dornach sky a red ball coming from the direction of Belfort, moving quickly.
The captain was on the balcony of his home on 22, rue Daguerre in Mulhouse, watching the stars and especially seeking the Northern star.
This is when saw a red and white light, dominantly red, ball-shaped, rushing in the cloudless sky.
He and his wife, who was at his side, did not lose sight of the light; which followed a large half-circle towards Belfort and returned to Mulhouse, where it rushed to Colmar.
The captain expressed that it was impossible that he saw any known craft.
The press said that his statement was corroborated by several people who have attested to have also seen in the sky of Dornach a red luminous object that was moving at "breathtaking speed" and disappeared towards Thann following a wide circle.
| Date: | August 15, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 09:30 p.m. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | August 17, 1956 |
| Reporting delay: | 1 to 2 days. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Mulhouse - Dornach |
| Place: | From balcony on 22 rue Daguerre, and from elsewhere, UFO in the sky |
| Latitude: | 47.744 |
| Longitude: | 7.322 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 20 m |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | Several. |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | Several |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adults. |
| Witness(es) types: | 1 gendarmerie captain and his wife, others independently. |
| Reporting channel: | The Press. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | From city, UFO in the sky. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | Yes |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Puzzled. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Not a known craft. |
| Hynek: | NL |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible meteor. |
[Ref. vmr1:] NEWSPAPER "VAR-MATIN - REPUBLIQUE":
Mulhouse (AFP). -- A police captain said he saw Wednesday night a red ball move without noise at high speed toward the northeast and said it is impossible to confuse the object in question with any currently known apparatus.
This statement is corroborated by several persons who certify that they also saw in the sky Dornasch [sic, "Dornach"], near Mulhouse, a red luminous object that moved at a tremedous speed and disappeared in the direction of Thann following a wide circle.
[Ref. ous1:] CHARLES GARREAU - UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "OURANOS":
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On August 13, it was the turn of the Alsace plain to be the scene of an apparition which, in many ways, recalls those of January 9, 1954, and January 21, 1954 [1] (Alerte dans le ciel, pp 174 etc. [2]). A "M.O.C." [3] flew across the sky, made a wide semicircle, and returned to the side it came from.
Too bad for our officials, scientists: here is the classic hypothesis of the meteor collapsing!
Among the witnesses, a captain of the gendarmerie. It's at 9:30 p.m.that many people saw it in the sky over Dornach.
The object, a red ball moving at a dizzying pace (another hypothesis down: the traditional balloon!) came from the direction of Belfort.
"I was on the balcony of our apartment at 2, rue Daguerre," explains a witness.
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Observing the stars and looking more specifically for the pole star, I saw a red and white light, the red dominant. It was flying through the sky. My wife was by my side. We did not lose sight of the light. The sky was cloudless. The light made a large semicircle in the direction of Belfort and returned to Mulhouse, from where it sped towards Colmar. No noise was heard, the shape of the luminous object suggested that of a ball.
I thought for a moment, that the radar of the Balloon-de-Servance, to which the mainstream press had devoted enthusiastic reports, had picked up the echo of the "M.O.C", and might be able to elucidate this observation. As with the 1954 sightings, I heard myself say that the surveillance services were not operating outside "operational" hours!
However, I would like to point out in passing that a D.A.T. officer [Direction Aérienne du Territoire, the military aerial traffic control service], sensing the ridiculousness - and the danger - of such methods, told me that before long our sky would be monitored 24 hours out of 24, and that he would then be able to answer any questions that may arise in the field that interests us.
For this observation in any case, we can say - despite the deficiency of our radars - that it was neither a balloon, nor a meteor, nor an airplane [4]. That said, the conclusion is simple!
Note [1]: see for those two dates my catalogue of the French sightings of 1954; in both cases it was indeed a meteor.
Note [2]: book written by Charles Garreau.
Note [3]: "Mystérieux Objet Célestes", ie., "Mysterious Sky Object" was an expression often used back then for UFOs.
Note [4]: typical Charles Garreau claim: he forgot to explain why it coult not have been an airplane.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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[... other cases...]
August 13 [,1956]
0930 p.m.: Dornach (Haut-Rhin) = Red & white sph. dizzying speed.
-id-: Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) = Fast red sph. (or August 15?).
[... other cases...]
[Ref. aldl:] MRS. GUEUDELOT, "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT" ARCHIVE:
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AUGUST 13, 1956.-
DORNACH. - (68)
Hour: about 09:30 p.m.
Many people have seen a mysterious thing in the sky. The object, a red ball which was moving at a dizzying pace, came from the direction of Belfort, described a wide circle above DORNACH before disappearing towards the THANN valley. Due to the speed at which the lime traveled through space, it was impossible to get an exact idea about it.
"L'ALSACE" for AUGUST 14, 1956, page 4. (sent by Mr. MOURIER)
AUGUST 13, 1956.-
MULHOUSE. - (68)
Hour: 09:30 p.m.
Letter from a reader: "It was exactly 9:30 p.m. I was on the balcony of our home, rue Daguerre, 22. Observing the stars, I saw a red and white light, the dominant red. It was coming from the direction of COLMAR and headed towards BELFORT. My wife was at my side. We did not lose sight of the light. The sky was cloudless. The light made a large semi-circle in the direction of Belfort and returned towards Mulhouse from where it sped off again towards COLMAR. No noise was heard. I thought for a moment that it was a jet plane flying at high altitude and high speed, but the shape of the luminous object suggested that of a ball.
"L'ALSACE" for August 15-16, 1956, page 6. (sent by Mr. MOURIER)
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AUGUST 13, 1956.-
MULHOUSE. - (68)
A Captain of the Gendarmerie declares having seen, MONDAY evening, AUGUST 13, a red ball moving without noise, at high speed, in the direction of the NORTH.EAST, and affirms that it is impossible to confuse the object in question with currently known aicraft. This statement is corroborated by several people who attest to having also seen in the sky of DORNACH, near Mulhouse, a luminous red object which was moving at dizzying speed and which disappeared in the direction of THANN, describing a large circle.
GRAZIANA document
[Ref. cvn2:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:
Former journalist Christian Valentin published in 2012 a very interesting book about UFO and flying saucers sightings in Alsace from the beginnings to 1980.
In this book, he told that according to Charles Garreau, OURANOS #79, page 22, 1956, there was a sighting on August 13, 1956 in the "SOUTH ALSACE" area:
A bright fireball crosses the plain of Alsace
At 09:30 p.m., a police captain sees in the sky of Dornach a red ball that moved briskly from the direction of Belfort.
"I was on the balcony of our apartment, 22 rue Daguerre, the witness explained. Watching the stars and looking particularly at the polar star, I saw a red and white light, red dominant. It flew through the sky. My wife was with me, we did not lose sight of the light. The sky was cloudless. The light made a great half circle towards Belfort and returned to Mulhouse, where it spun to Colmar. I heard no noise, the shape of the luminous object suggested that of a ball."
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
16 August 1956 20:00
Mulhouse, Alsace, France
One object was observed by one witness.
Hynek rating: NO
The sources are indicated as: "Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073)."
[Ref. ubk2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
13 August 1956 21:30
Dornach Mulhouse, France
One object was observed.
Hynek rating: NO
The sources are indicated as: "Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073)."
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANKEN" WEBSITE:
The German-speaking online database UFO-Datenbanken notes this observation, visible as:
| Case number | New case number | Investigator | Date of observation | ZC | Place ofobservation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Evaluation | Identification |
| 19560813 | 08/13/1956 | Dornach Mulhouse | France | 09.30 p.m. |
[Ref. ubk2:] "UFO-DATENBANKEN" WEBSITE:
The German-speaking online database UFO-Datenbanken notes this observation, also visible as:
| Case number: | 19560816 |
| New case number: | |
| Date of observation: | 08/16/1956 |
| Hour of observation: | 08.00 p.m. |
| Code postal: | |
| Place of observation | Mulhouse |
| Geographic coordoninates: | |
| Length: | |
| Width: | |
| Federal state: | |
| Country of observation: | France |
| Witnesses: | |
| Classification: | |
| Evaluation: | |
| Identification: | |
| Status of investigation: | |
| Investigator: | |
| Source: | DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002 |
[Ref. ubk3:] "UFODATENBANK":
| Case ID | 19560813 |
| Global case number: | 19560813-0036-UDB |
| Date of observation (Day) | 13 |
| Date of observation (Month) | 8 |
| Date of observation(Year) | 1956 |
| Hour of observation | 21.30 |
| Zip Code | |
| Place of observation | Dornach Mulhouse |
| County | |
| Federal state | |
| Country | France |
| Witnesses | |
| Hynek Classification | |
| Vallee Classification | |
| Ruthledge Classification | |
| Henke Classification | |
| Evaluation | |
| Identification | |
| Investigations | |
| Status of the investigation | |
| Domain | UFO-Datenbank |
| Case added by | |
| Latest change by: | |
| Investigator in charge of the case | |
| Source | DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002 |
| State of the information | 25.04.2015 22:16 |
| Accesses to this record | 2 |
| Link to Openmap | http://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=Dornach%20Mulhouse,France |
| Link to the observation | http://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=772a05c8-b0f1-4d12-b27d-d518d2e70411 |
| Summary for guests | Les faits et éventuellement d'autres documents seront publiés progressivement. Nous vous remercions de votre patience. |
| Preview image |
| Case ID | 19560816 |
| Global case number: | 19560816-0013-UDB |
| Date of observation (Day) | 16 |
| Date of observation (Month) | 8 |
| Date of observation(Year) | 1956 |
| Hour of observation | 20.00 |
| Zip Code | |
| Place of observation | Mulhouse |
| County | |
| Federal state | |
| Country | France |
| Witnesses | |
| Hynek Classification | |
| Vallee Classification | |
| Ruthledge Classification | |
| Henke Classification | |
| Evaluation | |
| Identification | |
| Investigations | |
| Status of the investigation | |
| Domain | UFO-Datenbank |
| Case added by | |
| Latest change by: | |
| Investigator in charge of the case | |
| Source | DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002 |
| State of the information | 25.04.2015 22:16 |
| Accesses to this record | 2 |
| Link to Openmap | http://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=Mulhouse,France |
| Link to the observation | http://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=1165eacb-f58e-4f64-a2c0-8960b972d7a5 |
| Summary for guests | Les faits et éventuellement d'autres documents seront publiés progressivement. Nous vous remercions de votre patience. |
| Preview image |
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The "Wednesday night", the date given in the press is August 15, 1956, not 16 or 13.
Dornach had been a city, then became a suburb, a district of Mulhouse.
I can give some location information:
The six balconies at 22 rue Daguerre in Mulhouse, 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. Three are visible, three other are at the corner of the building on the left here. The captain and his wife were on one of those balconies. (That is about 1500 meters from my home.)
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The view there can range from 46° to 133°, from northeast to east through the north and south.
Dornach is visually in the Northeast to the South-East of this place.
Belfort is in the east-southeast, Thann east-northeast, and Colmar north of this place.
If, as the captain said according to [cvn2] the "ball "made a big half circle to Belfort" and then "returned to Mulhouse" then went to Colmar, this is not a straight line and therefore it was not a meteor (also, ther is no mention of a trail.)
But if as stated in [vmr1] it went "to the north-east" caming from the visual direction of Belfort, then passed into the visual direction of Thann, and continued in the visual direction of Colmar, then there is nothing of the U-turn suggested in Garreau's report [cvn2], and it could have been a meteor.
For "The light made a large half-circle towards Belfort and returned to Mulhouse, where it rushed to Colmar," it should be understood, "The light followed a large half circle starting from the direction of Belfort and continuing to Mulhouse and then to Colmar", then it actually matches something seen as going "towards the northeast."
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With journalistic sources, ambiguities are common, and there is no reason to decide to take the "half-circles" and "returns" for what they seem to be.
Let's also note that we are in the period of the Perseid meteor shower.
Possible meteor.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editeur: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 26, 2014 | Creation, [vmr1], [cvn2], [uda1], [uda2], [ubk1], [ubk2]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | November 26, 2014 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 25, 2018 | Addition [ubk3]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | May 27, 2021 | Addition [ous1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | July 25, 2022 | Addition [gqy1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | September 5, 2023 | Addition [ald1]. |
