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The 1954 French flap:

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September 28, 1954, Froncles, Haute-Marne:

Reference for this case: 28-sep-54-Froncles.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

In his 1958 book on the French wave of 1954, the pioneer ufologist Aimé Michel evoked a case whose source he gave as being the newspaper Le Haut-Marnais Républicain for October 2, 1954.

He indicated that on September 28, 1954, at 9:30 p.m. on a pich black night, with a sky entirely covered by thick clouds, Miss Georgette Mongot, living in Place de la Fontaine, had gone out on the footsteps of her door and immediately noticed a rather large bright spot above the Marnant hill, to the northwest.

Very intrigued, she looked at this stain for a moment, seeing it go from red to green, keep this color for a few moments, then return to red, all without changing places and in total silence.

After five minutes, while the color change had happened several times, the stain had started to slowly descend.

Wanting someone to confirm her observation before it was too late, she rushed to her neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot, and they then all saw the stain slowly drop and finally disappear, hidden by nearby trees. A moment after its disappearance, the spot must, according to them, have greatly increased its luminosity, because a powerful light had erupted from the point of the supposed landing, illuminating the base of the clouds for a long time. Then everything was gone.

In 1969, the ufologist Jacques Vallée published in his catalog of "landings" that Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot and Miss Georgette Mongot observed "a large shiny object which oscillated" then "landed and changed color" and disappeared behind the trees.

This will, as usually, be copied many times by others.

In their 1984 book, Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier dated the case to October 29, 1954, not the 28, and published a quote from Georgette Mongot, saying that at 9:30 p.m....

"Then I see a large patch of light above Moment Hill, northwest of the village. It constantly changes color, goes from red to green, then, after a few moments, returns to red. But it remains motionless and makes no noise. It lasts maybe five minutes. And then it begins to descend slowly. Seeing this, I rush to my neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillon. So, all three, the spot is seen slowly sinking and disappearing behind nearby trees. After a few minutes, a powerful light erupts from the landing spot. The entire base of the clouds is illuminated for a long time. And then everything goes out."

These ufologists said their sources were the press and their personal file, and add that the three witnesses were deeply impressed and returned home after observing another quarter of an hour in vain for a possible sequel.

In 1979, in their book "La Grande Peur Martienne", Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, intending to explain all the cases of the 1954 wave in France, at least assuring that they are all hoaaxes or misintrerpetations, gave as an explanation of the case "at Froncles on September 28, 1954" that "newspapers have a habit of distorting reports of meteors by observers" and that it was so in this case. They gave no other information, but Michel Figuet after two publications in his "Francat" list, indicated in his third version that the case is explained as a meteor by Barthel and Brucker.

Many summaries of the case will still appear, without additional information or explanations.

Reports:

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel indicates that the next day after the observation of September 27, 1954 in Froncles, there was again an observation of unidentified flying machines there, at 09:30 p.m..

That evening, a dark night wrapped the area and the sky was entirely covered by thick clouds.

At 09:30 p.m., Miss Georgette Mongot, living in place de la Fontaine, went outside on her doorstep and immediately noticed a rather broad luminous spot above the Marnant hill, in the North-West of the area.

Very puzzled, Georgette Mongot looked at this spot one moment. She saw it changing from red to green, keep a few moments this color, then change back to red, the whole without changing place and in a total silence. At the end of five minutes, whereas the change of color had occurred several times, the spot started to go down slowly.

Wanting that somebody confirms her observation before it is too late, she rushed at her neighbors', Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot. The three witnesses saw the spot dropping slowly and disappearing finally, hidden by nearby trees. One moment after its disappearance, the spot had, according to them, to have strongly increase its luminosity, because a powerful light spouted out from the point of the supposed landing, and lengthily lighted the base of the clouds.

Then, all disappeared.

He indicates that the source is Le Haut-Marnais Républicain for October 2.

[Ref. aml2:] AIME MICHEL:

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

The author indicates that on September 28, 1954, in Froncles, three witnesses observed a large shining object which oscillated then landed and changed color.

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. ldl1:] MAGAZINE D'UFOLOGIE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

The magazine lists this case as one of those that need an investigation or a new investigation:

"161 9/28/54 Froncles"

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:

[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU ET RAYMOND LAVIER:

The two ufologists and authors indicate that on September 29, 1954, in Froncles in the Haute-Marne, according to newspapers clipping and their personal file, at 09:30 p.m., Mrs. Georgette Mongot left her place. She told:

"I then see a broad luminous spot above Moment hill, in the North-West of the village. It changes color constantly, going from red to green, then, after a few moment, returns to red. But it remains motionless and does not make any noise. I lasted perhaps five minutes. And then, it starts to go down slowly. Seeing that, I rush at my neighbors', Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillon. Then, all the three, we see the spot dropping slowly and disappearing behind nearby trees. At the end of a few minutes, a powerful light spouts out at the location of landing. All the base of the clouds is illuminated by it lengthily. And then everything dies out."

Mrs. Georgette and the two other witnesses were deeply impressed and returned to their premises after having still observed a quarter of hour in vain for a possible continuation.

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors indicate that in Froncles in the Haute-Marne, on September 28, 1954, at 09:30 p.m., Mrs. Mongot left her home when she saw a broad luminous spot which went alternatively from red to green. The spot was motionless above the Momont hill and there was no noise. Mrs. Mongeot observed during 5 minutes. The object then descended slowly. Mrs. Mongot warned her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Lartillot, and they also observed the spot which disappeared behind trees. At the end of a few minutes a powerful light spout out of the point of landing. All the base of the clouds was lengthily illuminated, then all died out.

[Ref. jfe1:] JEAN-FRANCOIS GILLE:

The author cites this case as part of a group of three cases arranged in an isosceles triangles according to Jean-Charles Fumoux.

[Ref. jfe2:] JEAN-FRANCOIS GILLE:

ICOD is an internal code in the listing. (57) is column 57 of the UFOCAT computer catalog initiated by the Condon Committee. JV4 is the case number in Jacques Vallée's listing of "Chroniques...". JV1 is the case number in Jacques Vallée's Magonia listing.

[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

The authors indicate that the newspapers are accustomed to deforming testimonys of meteors by their observers and that it was the case with the sighting in the Haute-Marne in Froncles on September 28, 1954.

[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":

[Ref. gep2:] "GEPO" UFOLOGY GROUP:

[Ref. mft3:] MICHEL FIGUET:

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on the 28 (or 29?) September, in France, in Froncles, hill Momont (Brittany), "21:30 - Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot and Miss Georgette Mongot observed a large shining object which oscillated then lands and changed color; it disappeared behind the trees".

The sources are noted "Haut-Marnais, 2 Oct. 1954" with thanks to Wim van Utrecht, and "Jacques Vallée: 'Chronique des apparitions ET' - DENOEL 1972 - J'AI LU COLL. - p. 261".

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

[Ref. chy1:] CHRISTOPHER HUMPHREY:

The author says that according to Jacques Vallée's case 24, on September 28, in Froncles, three witnesses observed a large bright object that oscillated then landed and changed color. A source note says "Bowen, p. 33".

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

The sources are noted as: "Haut-Marnais, October 2, 1954"; "Vallée, J., case #24, 'Rapport sur l'analyse de 200 observations documentées faites en 1954'".

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Haute Marne (52) in Froncles on September 27, 1954 at 13:15 hours, "a woman residing rue de l'Usine, followed with her eyes the passage of three planes when she saw behind them in the direction of North a brilliant body which obviously reflected the sunlight. It was yellow on the Western side and blue on the Eastern side. She used binoculars and then distinguished that it was a flat object. The object was initially motionless, then suddenly slipped by towards the North-West, stopped then for two minutes, set out again suddenly and repeated this operation five times before leaving out of sight towards the North-West. The witness' husband was also witness of this observation."

The source is indicated as: "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".

[Ref. lcn2:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Haute Marne in Froncles on September 28, 1954, at 21:30, "A woman leaves home and sees a broad luminous spot which passes alternatively from the red to the green, it is motionless hovering and without noise, above the Momont hill. The witness observes it during 5 minutes. The object then goes down slowly. The witness alerts her neighbors, they observed the spot which disappears behind the trees, at the end of a few minutes a powerful light spouts out of the landing place. All the base of the clouds is illuminated lengthily. And then, everything dies out."

The sources are noted: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979", "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 28 September 1954, in France, at 21:30 in Froncles, "Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot and Georgette Mongot observed a large, bright object oscillate, then land."

And: "At 9:30 p.m. Georgette Mongot and Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot in Froncles, France observed a large, bright object oscillate, then land. It changed color and was lost to sight behind some trees."

And: "Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillot and Georgette Mongot observed a large, bright object oscillate, then land. It changed color and was lost to sight behind some trees."

And: "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft."

And: "One star was observed by three witnesses in a residential area for over five minutes."

The sources are listed as Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Rogerson, Peter, World-Wide Catalog of Type 1 Reports; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded this case 8 times:

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

Notes:

A source without references notes that in Froncles, Haute-Marne, at 09:30 P.M., "Mrs. Georgette Mongot comes out of her home:"

"I then see a large luminous spot above the Moment hill, in the North-West of the village. It changes color continuously, passes from red to green, then, after a few moments, returns to red. But it remains motionless and does not make any noise. It lasts perhaps 5 minutes. And then it starts to go down slowly. Seeing that, I rush at my neighbors', Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Lartillon [Lartillot?]. Then, all three, we see the spot slowly go down and disappearing behind close trees. At the end of a few minutes, a powerful light spouts out of the point of landing. All the cloud base is lengthily illuminated by it. And then, everything died out."

"Deeply impressed, the three witnesses return on their premises after having vainly awaited for nearly a quarter of hour a new luminous display."

Explanations:

Venus, and coincidental illumination at the ground? Or meteor sighting exagerated by a newspaper?

Another explanation is possible:

In the Press for September 24, 1954, it was said that "the biggest aerial drill in Europe", operation "Etoile Filante" ("Shooting Star"), will take place, by NATO Air Forces, above France and Germany.

Historically, these "Shooting Star" maneuvers including "Indian Summer" lasted from 20 to 27 September 1954, involving the new NATO dispersal base of Damblain, implicating hosts of the F-84G Thunderjet of the 3rd Fighter Wing from Reims and the 2/3 Fighters Wing also using F-84G's.

It so happens that the Damblain air base is just 39 km in straight line in the Southeast of Froncles.

The air bases of Lunéville, and Lahr-Hugsweier in Germany, among others undoubtedly, participated.

The maneuvers were conducted under realistic conflict conditions, the planes were parked outdoors where maintenance was also done, and the airmen lived and slept in camouflaged tents.

Addition on March 27, 2022:

I checked the sky to the northwest for the dates September 28 and 29, 1954; there was no Moon or Venus or Mars there, the brightest body being the star Cappella at an elevation of 15°, but it was not stting, it was rising.

There was probably a meteor on September 29, 1954, probably visible from Froncles, but between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., not at 9:30 p.m. On September 28, there is a possible meteor seen over Paris, but around 10:00 p.m.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Froncles, Haute-Marne, colline Momont, Alexis Lartillot, Georgette Mongot, large, object, bright, oscillation, lading, changing color

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

• [----] Article in the regional newspaper Le Haut-Marnais, France, October 2, 1954.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Arthaud publisher, France, 1958.
• [aml2] "Soucoupes Volantes - L'étrange découverte d'Aimé Michel", article by Aimé Michel, in the popular science magazine Science et Vie, France, #485, February 1958.
• [aml1] "A Propos des Soucoupes Volantes - Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Planète publishers, France, pages 113,119,120,121,122,123, 1966.
• [jve2] Summary by Jacques Vallée in "The Humanoids: A Survey of World-Wide Reports of Landings of Unconventional Aerial Objects and their Alleged Occupants", book by Charles Bowen, Neville Spearman publishers, U-K., 1969.
• [jve1] "Un Siècle d'Atterrissages", catalogue by Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans la Nuit (LDLN), France, #102, page 6, October 1969.
• [jve1] "Passport to Magonia - On Ufos, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publishers, USA, 1969.
• [jve1] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-Terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, Denoel publisher, France, page 261, 1972.
• [ldl1] "Réenquêtes 1954", article in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #118, page 4, June 1972.
• [jve2] Summary by Jacques Vallée in "En Quête des Humanoïdes", book by Charles Bowen, French translation of "The Humanoids", J'ai Lu publisher, France, page 38, 1974.
• [prn1] "International catalog of Type 1 Reports - Part 6", catalog compiled by Peter Rogerson, in the ufology bulletin MUFOB (Merseyside UFO Bulletin), U-K., Volume 6, #4, page 71, April 1974.
• [gal1] "Face aux Extra-Terrestres", book by Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Jean-Pierre Delarge - Mame publishers, J'ai Lu, France, page 30, 1975.
• [gal1] "Face aux Extra-Terrestres", book by Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Jean-Pierre Delarge - J'ai Lu publishers, France, pp 31-32, 1975.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Seghers publisher, France, pages 131,133,134, 1977.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Robert Laffont publisher, France, pages 131,133,134, 1978.
• [fru1] "OVNI, Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France", book by Michel Figuet and Jean Louis Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publisher, France, pp 92-93, 1979.
• [jfe1] "L'isocélie de Fumoux: vers une logique des atterrissages d'ovnis?", article by Jean-François Gille, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #192, page 6, February 1980.
• [jfe2] "L'isocélie de Fumoux: un premier résultat scientifique", article by Jean-François Gille, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #209, page 15, November 1981.
• [bbr1] "La Grande Peur Martienne", book by Gerard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, Les Nouvelles Editions Rationnalistes publisher, page 111, 1979.
• [gep1] "Catalogue mondial des observations - Fichier OVNI GEPO Pasqualini 1954, liste, dans le bulletin d'ufologie GEPO Informations, groupe d'ufologie GEPO, France, N° 18, 1^er trimestre 1981.
• [gep2] "Catalogue mondial des observations - Fichier OVNI GEPO Pasqualini 1954, list, in the ufology bulletin GEPO Informations, ufology group GEPO, France, #16, 1^st quarter, 1981.
• [mft3] "ATTERRISSAGES D'UFO sur le continent français du 26 septembre 1954 au 18 octobre 1954", list by Michel Figuet in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #249-250, page 25, March / April 1985.
• [mft1] "Catalogue Francat des rencontres rapprochées en France (Listing 800 1982) (2 - Suite)", list compiled by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #257-258, page 16, November - December 1985.
• [mft2] "Catalogue Francat des rencontres rapprochées en France (listing 800 - 1982) (6 - Suite et fin) - CE CE1, CE2 ELUCIDÉES", list by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #265-266, page 17, July / August 1986.
• [----] "Computerized Catalog", compiled by Luis Schoenherr.
• [lhh1] "*U* Computer Database", database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
• [goe1] "Chronologie OVNI", compiled by Godelieve van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999, at users.skynet.be/sky84985/asept54.htm
• [djn1] "Encounters with Aliens on This Day", written by Donald A. Johnson, Ph.D., compiled from the UFOCAT 2003 computer database, www.ufocat.com.
• [chy1] "UFOs, Psi, and Spiritual Evolution?", book by Christopher Humphrey, Adventures Unlimited Press publishers, USA, page 25, 2005.
• [jbu1] "Septembre 1954", web page by Jérôme Beau, RR0 website, France, circa 2006, at www.rr0.org/data/1/9/5/4/09/index.html
• [lcn1] Base OVNI France, website by Luc Chastan, France, circa 2010, at baseovnifrance.free.fr/listgen.php?typlist=9&page=0&numobs=434
• [lcn2] Base OVNI France, web site by Luc Chastan, France, circa 2005, at baseovnifrance.free.fr/listgen.php?typlist=2&page=27&numobs=436
• [uda1] "28 Sep 1954 - Froncles, France", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf18/uf9/189035.htm
• [nip1] List on The NICAP Website, USA, found in 2014, at http://www.nicap.org/reports/1954_ufocat.htm
• [ubk1] Online database UFO-Datenbank, Germany, found in 2016, at ufodatenbank.de
• [prn2] "INTCAT 1954", catalogue compiled by Peter Rogerson, U-K., circa 2016, at https://intcat.blogspot.com/search?q=1954

Document history:

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This page was last updated on July 6, 2022.