ALSACAT-1959-03-17-STRASBOURG-1
In 1959, in the magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #22, Charles Garreau, journalist and pioneer of French ufology, wrote an article in which he claimed to demonstrate a link between rocket launches and the activity of "the beings who watch over the Earth."
He noted among other things that on March 17, 1959, there were "mysterious explosions over Strasbourg", which he believed to be linked to the launch of a Vanguard rocket in the us one month earlier, announced on February 18, 1959.
| Date: | March 17, 1959 |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | 1960 |
| Reporting delay: | Day, months. |
| Department: | Bas-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Strasbourg |
| Place: | ? |
| Latitude: | 48.570 |
| Longitude: | 7.752 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 20 km |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | ? |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | ? |
| Witness(es) ages: | ? |
| Witness(es) types: | ? |
| Reporting channel: | Jacques Vallée, and Spanish "mystery" encyclopedia. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | ? |
| Visibility conditions: | ? |
| UFO observed: | ? |
| 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: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | ? |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probably not UFO-related. |
[Ref. cgu1:] CHARLES GARREAU:
This ufologist thinks he demonstrates a link between all UFO sightings in the world and rocket and satellite launches; he indicates as an example that on March 17, 1959, there were "mysterious explosions over Strasbourg", which he thinks were linked to the launch of a Vanguard rocket announced on February 18, 1959.
He explains this connection as follows: According to him, the beings who watch the Earth are put on alert when we launch rockets.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
|
[... other cases...]
March 17 [1959]
?: Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin): Mysterious explosions in the sky
[... other cases...]
[Ref. eve1:] ENRIQUE DE VICENTE:
This author of an encyclopedia on various mysteries, published on CD-Rom, wrote that in Strasbourg in France on March 17, 1959, one had heard of mysterious explosions above the city, which had no explanation:
17 Marzo 1959 Estrasburgo Francia Misteriosas explosiones fueron escuchadas sobre esta ciudad. No se encontraron explicaciones al respecto.
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
17 March 1959 20:30
Strasbourg, Alsace, France
Hynek rating: NL
The sources are indicated as: "Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073)."
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFODATENBANK":
| Case ID | 19590317 |
| Global case number: | 19590317-0005-UDB |
| Date of observation (Day) | 17 |
| Date of observation (Month) | 3 |
| Date of observation(Year) | 1959 |
| Hour of observation | 20.30 |
| Zip Code | |
| Place of observation | Strasbourg |
| 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=Strasbourg,France |
| Link to the observation | http://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=a6ca6073-0b5f-4069-97fc-e2896eb181f4 |
| Summary for guests | The facts and other possible documents will be published progressively. We thank you for your patience. |
| Preview image |
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According to [eve1], there would be no UFO there but "explosions"; for [uda1] it is a UFO sighting of the "nocturnal light" type...
I found no othe source other than these two meager and unreliable ones.
Admitting the reality of the facts - which is doubtful - I find that there has been no earthquake in Strasbourg on this date.
I found that the newspaper L'Est Républicain for March 14, 1959, on page 6, reported the discovery of fifteen tons of shells of WWI, in Héming in the Moselle, near the Paris-Strasbourg line. Were they detonated in a center in Strasbourg?
A demining company was created in 1959 precisely in Soultz-sous-Forest, 30 kilometers north-west of Strasbourg.
Update on May 25, 2021:
With my finding of Charles Garreau's article, I now know why this entered the ufology literature: via this dubious "link" with a rocket launch in the US one month erlier...
Probably not UFO-related.
* = 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 | July 9, 2015 | Creation, [eve1], [uda1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 9, 2015 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 25, 2018 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | May 25, 2021 | Addition [cgu1]. summary rewritten, was: "A questionable Spanish encyclopedia of 1996 about "mysteries" says that on March 17, 1959, unexplained explosions were heard above Strasbourg. For this same date, a ufology catalog on the web says there was a UFO sighting of "nocturnal light" type in Strasbourg, stating that it comes from the computer catalog of Jacques Vallée." In the discussion, addition of the "Update on May 25, 2021" part. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | July 25, 2022 | Addition [gqy1]. |
