The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 2-oct-54-Limoges.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The national newspaper Paris-Presse for October 7, 1954, among other observations of October 4, 1954, mentioned "Limoges".
The city with this date then appeared in a list of sightings compiled by Jacques Vallée in 1966; he then indicated in 1969 that according to the newspaper France-Soir for October 7, 1954, it was an object which landed on October 4, 1954 at an unknown hour in the courtyard of Mr. Montagne, a railway employee.
As usual, this summary by Jacques Vallée was then copied many times.
However, Christian Peyrat of Limoges, an investigator from the ufology group Lumières Dans La Nuit, who had undertaken to review the French cases of 1954 from Jacques Vallée’s catalog, met the witnesses on August 6, 1970, and gathered more information.
First of all, the observation had not taken place on October 4, but on October 2, 1954.
Peyrat reported that the witness, Mr. Montagne, was returning from work at 11:30 p.m., and had just started down Ernest Lavisse Street on his vélosolex. That evening the weather was clear and the full moon was visible.
He had just cut the engine when he saw, in the courtyard across from his home, about 2.5 meters from his house, a powerful light which he immediately interpreted as coming from a car.
He was then at a distance of 70 meters, but the object from which this light came was hidden from view by a one-story house.
Upon reaching his gate, Mr. Montagne turned around and looked at "this car." He barely had time to notice, despite the blinding light, that the car in question was rising into the air with a very faint whistling sound.
He had time to observe, before the object took off, that it was resting on three legs.
Furthermore, the UFO was equipped with powerful headlights, three in number according to the witness: two illuminating his house, and the third directed toward the lower end of Ernest Lavisse Street.
The color emitted by the headlights was very white, "comparable to magnesium."
The witness estimated the diameter of each light source at about 15 cm.
Mr. Peyrat asked the witness whether he had noticed any landing traces. The answer was negative, which was understandable since his courtyard was covered in gravel.
At the moment the craft took off, the witness entered his home, holding his vélosolex by the handlebars; he set it down near the front door of his house and rushed into the bedroom to wake Mrs. Montagne so that she could witness the phenomenon.
Mr. and Mrs. Montagne were only able to observe the flight of the craft heading toward Brive-la-Gaillarde.
Mr. Montagne did not see the change in the craft’s direction because at that moment he was inside his house.
The time during which the witness saw the craft on the ground was estimated at about 2 seconds.
During the flight of the UFO, the witness thought the light emitted by the craft appeared clearer.
Furthermore, the witness did not specify whether the lights were fixed.
The craft was at an altitude of about 1,500 meters, and it had the shape of a cone measuring 2.5 meters on each side.
The witness, having suffered from sore eyes, was obliged to consult a doctor.
Mr. Peyrat made a sketch showing the location of the observation:
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This investigation report by Mr. Peyrat lay dormant until the 2010s in the archives of Lumières Dans la Nuit, from where it was then unearthed by the association "SCEAU" (sceau-archives-ovni.org), which is dedicated to preserving ufological documents.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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... While in Paris, a cardboard salesman sees a "flying disc" above the Porte Dorée
AGAIN a Martian. Each department will soon have its own. It was in the Finistère that the last specimen of the species appeared. This time, he showed himself without a helmet, with his face uncovered. He was not pretty.
A baker from Loctudy, Mr. Pierre Lucas, saw him disembark yesterday at 4 a.m. in a saucer flying three meters in diameter, in the courtyard of the bakery.
- He was no more than 1 m. 20 tall, he says. He approached me and tapped me on the shoulder with unintelligible words.
"I managed to keep my cool," continues the courageous bakery apprentice. The visitor followed me into the bakery. In the light, I could stare at him. His face was covered with hair and eyes the size of a crow's egg. I called my boss, but the Martian, when he arrived, was already gone. And the saucer was gone."
That same night, a Concarneau beer merchant saw two luminous round tables in the sky, extended by a sort of tail.
In the Nord, one did not see a Martian, but the gendarmes of Beuvry-les-Béthune wrote up a report against a manufacturer of flying saucers. He is a pensioner, named d'Oliveira. He is not Martian, but Portuguese. A whole stock of saucers was found in his attic. In fact, they were paper balloons 1 m. 50 to 5 meters in diameter, and of all colors.
I launched thousands of them, he said. It was so beautiful. In the evening, it looked like fireballs...
The saucer factory is now closed. The industrialist will be prosecuted for "having set off flaming devices within 100 meters of the homes".
Bad day yesterday for the saucers in the Nord: an investigation, carried out at Bray-Dunes, near Dunkirk, allowed to establish that the craft seen in this region were jet planes from the Belgian base of Coxide.
A resident of Haubourdin however observed a "flying tram", and a child saw a saucer land at Cheny, near Lille; which left traces "like that, he said, of a frog man". The gendarmes examined these traces; they looked very similar to those of horse hooves.
Paris, which the saucers have neglected until now, was favored by an appearance yesterday afternoon. A flying disc, followed by a plume of smoke, flew at 4:30 p.m. over the Porte Dorée under the eyes of Mr. Allouis, cardboard salesman. Several other people confirmed his testimony. But a spoilsport suggests that the flying disc, which he also observed, was, it seemed, a flying wing.
One saw yesterday a good twenty saucers, cigars, fireballs, light globes, in Limoges, at Brive, at Azat-le-Ris and at Magnac-Laval (Haute-Vienne), at Forgès and Le Mazin (Corrèze), at Payzac (Dordogne), at Château-Chinon, at Nassier, in the Poitou marshes, at Vix (Vendée), at La Rochelle, at Albi.
Near Clermont-Ferrand, two saucers which, in passing, gave off a smell of nitro-benzine; near La Rochelle, another one that left oil stains when it landed in a meadow.
Finally, a technician from the weather station at Mans-Arnage observed yesterday morning at 6:08 a.m. two strong dark red lights.
- They were, he said, neither planes, nor sounding balloons, nor meteors. But I will not go so far as to claim that these are flying saucers...
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 233 | -001.25721 | 45.85050 | 04 | 10 | 1954 | LIMOGES | F | 001 | A |
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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188) October 4, 1954 Limoges (France):
An object was said to have landed in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad employee. (35) (France-Soir, Oct. 7, 1954.)
[Ref. cpt1:] CHRISTIAN PEYRAT:
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CASE 188 J VALLEE
Investigation: August 6, 1970, by our correspondent Mr. Christian PEYRAT, 31 Rue Michel Chevalier, 87 LIMOGES.
The witness was returning from work at 11:30 p.m. and had just begun descending Ernest Lavisse Street on his Velosolex. Mr. MONTAGNE had just cut the engine when he noticed, in his courtyard opposite his house—about 2.5 meters from his home—a powerful light that he immediately identified as coming from a car.
At that moment, he was at a distance of 70 meters (but the object from which the light came was hidden from his view by a one-story house).
However, upon reaching his gate, he turned around and looked at "this car." He barely had time to notice, despite the powerful light that blinded him, that the car in question was rising into the air with a very faint whistling sound.
Mr. MONTAGNE had time to observe, before the craft took off, that it was resting on three legs.
Furthermore, according to the witness, the UFO was equipped with three powerful headlights: two illuminating his house, and the third directed toward the lower part of Ernest Lavisse Street.
I asked the witness whether he had found any landing traces. Negative answer, which is understandable since his courtyard was covered with gravel.
The color emitted by the headlights was very white, "comparable to magnesium."
The witness estimated the diameter of each light source at about 15 cm.
At the moment the craft took off, the witness entered his house, holding his Velosolex by the hand, set it near the entrance door, and rushed into the bedroom to wake Mrs. MONTAGNE so she could witness the phenomenon.
The time during which the witness saw the craft on the ground was about 2 seconds.
Mr. and Mrs. MONTAGNE were only able to observe the craft flying toward BRIVE.
Mr. MONTAGNE did not see the change in direction of the craft, as at that moment he was inside his house.
During the flight of the UFO, the witness noted that the light emitted by the craft seemed clearer.
Furthermore, the witness did not specify whether the lights were fixed.
The craft was at an altitude of about 1,500 m. The UFO had the shape of a cone with a side of 2.5 m.
The witness, having eye pain, had to consult a doctor.
On the evening of October 4, the weather was clear and the full moon was visible.
I must point out that this landing occurred during the night of SATURDAY to SUNDAY, that is, the evening of October 2, 1954, not October 4.
Attached: Newspaper photo
Sketch photo.
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[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on October 4, 1954, an object landed in Limoges in the courtyard of Mr. Montagne, a railwayman.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET ET JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Limoges in the department of the Haute-Vienne, on October 4, 1954, an object landed in the courtyard of Mr. Montagne, an S.N.C.F [National railway co]employee.
The source is indicated as the Vallée catalogue, case N.188
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
October 4th. (no known hour)
A railroad employee living in Limoges, a M. Montagne, claimed a strange machine had landed on his property. No other details available. 40.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3959: 1954/10/04 00:00 10 1:15:00 E 45:51:00 N 3331 WEU FRN HVN 6:7
LIMOGES,FR:STRANGE OBJ LANDS IN RAILROAD-MAN'S YARD:NFD:type unk:/LDLN#102
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 116: ROAD+RAILS
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that in 1954, on October 4, in France in Limoges, an "object lands in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad worker."
She indicates that the source is "France-Soir, Oct. 7, 1954".
Monday, 4 October 1954
[...]
In Limoges (France), 1 object lands in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad employee.
[...]
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
On this Day
October 4
[...]
1954 - An object was said to have landed in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad employee, in Limoges, France. (Sources: France-Soir, October 7, 1954; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 216).
[...]
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
Monday, 4 October 1954
[...]
In Limoges (France), 1 object lands in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad employee.
[...]
Jérôme Beau indicates as source: "France-Soir, October 7, 1954".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan notes in his database that in the Haute Vienne on October 4, 1954, at an unknown hour, "an object lands in Limoges, in the yard of a witness. Sparse information".
Luc Chastan indicates as source: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 4 October 1954 in Limoges, France, "An object was said to have landed in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad employee. An unidentifiable object was observed at close range."
The sources are indicated as: Vallee Magonia Database.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Oct. 4, 1954 - An object was said to have landed in the yard of Mr. Montagne, a railroad employee, in Limoges, France. (Sources: France-Soir, October 7, 1954; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 216, case # 188).
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the case 4 times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541004 | 04.10.1954 | Limoges | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541004 | 04.10.1954 | Limoges | France | CE II | ||||||
| 19541004 | 04.10.1954 | Limoges | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541004 | 04.10.1954 | Limoges | France | CE I |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 4 1954.
LIMOGES (AISNE: FRANCE)
An object landed in the yard of railway worker Mr Montagne
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Possible extraterrestrial visitors.
At 70 meters from the main witness and no more than about twenty meters from his wife, if this thing had been a helicopter, the noise would have been obvious.
Below: this is a 1954 "Vélo Solex":
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(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Limoges, Haute-Vienne, object, landing, Montagne, yard
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 28, 2003 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 16, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [djn1], [jbu1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 22, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | October 9, 2014 | Addition [nip1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | December 16, 2016 | Additions [lgs1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | February 6, 2021 | Additions [ppe1], [lhh1], [prn2]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | March 27, 2022 | Addition of the Summary. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | September 6, 2025 | Addition [cpt1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [cpt1]. Case day changed from 4 to 2. Explanations changed, were "Totally insufficient information." |
