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The 1954 French flap:

The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.

Beginning of October, 1954, Vielmur-sur-Agout, Tarn:

Reference for this case: Beg-Oct-54-Vielmur.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The newspapers Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954 and La Dépêche du Midi for October 15, 1954, reported that in Vielmur-sur-Agout, Mr. Roger Ramond, city councilor and night watchman at the Société des Moulins de Vielmur, saw a mysterious craft in the sky at exactly 11:30 p.m.

He stated that on the hill located on the opposite slope of the Agout, at a distance of about 400 meters, there was an object having the shape of an elongated balloon, with a length of about 2 to 3 meters, a height of 1 to 1.5 meters. It was illuminated in an orange-red color, the clarity spreading over a radius of 20 meters, which allowed him to clearly distinguish the vine stumps located in the surroundings.

This lasted until 02:15 a.m., when the craft rose very slowly vertically and came to rest at a height of 20 to 30 meters for about ten seconds, then disappeared "like lightning" without leaving a trail.

Roger Ramond had visited the scene in the morning but found no trace, "the craft having landed on a passage of carts very trampled by the recent harvest."

In the newspaper Le Tarn Libre for October 22, 1954, the same thing was reported but with a date this time: October 12, 1954, which cannot be correct since Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954, had already reported the case.

Aimé Michel quoted the place and the date of October 12, 1954, without giving details in his 1958 book on the French wave of 1954. Guy Quincy gave the October 12 date but told of a "sphere" splitting in two, and "three dwarves"... Michel Carrouges, in 1963, gave only little information and dated the case at October 14, 1954. Then the case appeared in Jacques Vallée's catalog of "landings" in 1969, with the distance of 400 meters becoming 300 meters, curiously.

Garreau and Lavier, in 1974, gave the date of October 12, 1954 and an accurate summary, but without sources. Figuet and Ruchon in 1979 published an accurate summary, with Sud-Ouest for 12 October 1954 as a source, and dating the case from the same day.

In his "Francat" catalog in 1985, Michel Figuet still gives October 12, 1954, as the date, speaks of a "close encounter" - at 400 meters... - but evokes without specifying a "possible confusion."

There will be many other more or less succinct summaries later, but without additional information.

Reports:

[Ref. sot1:] NEWSPAPER "SUD-OUEST":

Vielmur-sur-Agout. -- M. Roger Ramond, city council man and night watchman at the company of the Mills of Vielmur, saw a mysterious machine in the sky.

"It was exactly 11:30 p.m., he said, when I saw on the hill located on the opposite slope of the Agout, that is to say at a distance of approximately 400 m, a machine having the shape of an elongated balloon, a length from two to three meters approximately, by one meter to one meter fifty in height, illuminated of orange red color. The luminosity was spread on a radius of twenty meters and made it possible to distinguish the stocks of the nearby vines."

"This appearance lasted up to 02:15 a.m.; at this time the apparatus rose very slowly vertically to immobilize itself during ten seconds approximately at about twenty or thirty meters of height during ten seconds approximately, and disappeared very fast without leaving a trail."

"I went on the spot in the morning but I could not observe any trace, the machine having landed on a passage of carts very trampled by the recent grape harvest."

[Ref. dmi1:] NEWSPAPER "LA DEPECHE DU MIDI":

Vielmur-sur-Agout. - M. Roger Ramond, city council man and night watchman at the company of the Mills of Vielmur, saw a mysterious machine in the sky.

"It was exactly 11:30 p.m., he said, when I saw on the hill located on the opposite slope of the Agout, that is to say at a distance of approximately 400 m, a machine having the shape of an elongated balloon, a length from two to three meters approximately, by one meter to one meter fifty in height, illuminated of orange red color. The luminosity was spread on a radius of twenty meters and made it possible to distinguish the stocks of the nearby vines."

"This appearance lasted up to 02:15 a.m.; at this time the apparatus rose very slowly vertically to immobilize itself during ten seconds approximately at about twenty ot thirty meters of height during ten seconds approximately, and disappeared very fast without leaving a trail. I went on the spot in the morning but I could not observe any trace, the machine having landed on a passage of carts very trampled by the recent grape harvest."

[Ref. ltl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE TARN LIBRE":

THE FLYING SAUCERS TOPIC

[...]

A Vielmur

Mr. Roger Ramond, city council man and night watchman at the company of the Mills of Vielmur, saw a mysterious machine in the sky, on October 12.

"It was exactly 11:30 p.m., he said, when I saw on the hill located on the opposite slope of the Agout, that is to say at a distance of approximately 400 m, a machine having the shape of an elongated balloon, a length from two to three meters approximately, by one meter to one meter fifty in height, illuminated of orange red color."

"The luminosity was spread on a radius of twenty meters and made it possible to distinguish the stocks of the nearby vines. This appearance lasted up to 02:15 a.m.; at this time the apparatus rose very slowly vertically to immobilize itself during ten seconds approximately at about thirty meters of height. It disappeared suddenly like a flash without leaving a trail. No trace could be found, the machine having landed on a passage leading to the vines and very trampled during this time of grape harvest."

[...]

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel mentions the case in relation to others but does not provide specifics.

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

Scan.

OCTOBER 12

?: Vielmur-sur-Agout (12 km W.Castres--Tarn):sph. splits in 2 + landing+ 3 dwarfs

[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:

Scan.

[... other cases...]

October 12, 1954: Vielmur-sur-Agout (12 km ISL in the WNW. Castres--Tarn): (sphere splitting in 2/ landing/3 small size pilots

[... other cases...]

[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:

Michel Carrouges mentions that the incident reported by Mr. Ramond occurred on October 14, 1954, and happened in Vielmur-du-Tarn and not Villemur near Fronton. It lasted 2 hours 3/4.

[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Scan.

12 Oct., 1954 Vielmur France Stramare 3 beings 3

[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:

322 -002.09241 43.62120 12 10 1954 23 30 1 VIELMUR-TARN F 031 C *283

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Scan.

247) October 12, 1954, 11:30 p.m., Vielmur (France):

Roger Ramond, a night watchman saw a great light and noticed an oval object which landed 300 m away. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then took a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 m above ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed. (P 64, M 168)

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

The author indicates that on October 12, 1954, little before midnight, Roger Ramond, watcher in Vielmur in the Tarn, saw a great light and noticed an oval object which landed within approximately 300 meters of him. The U.F.O. had the appearance of an orange crimson balloon and illuminated the vineyard of a light violet. It remained there nearly three hours, then took a vertical position, rose slowly, stopped within 30 meters of the ground during a few seconds and finally flew away at a dazing speed.

[Ref. jve3:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Scan.

October 12, 1954, 11:30 p.m., Vielmur (France):

Roger Ramond, a night watchman saw a great light and noticed an oval object which landed 300 m away. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then took a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 m above ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed. (Sud-Ouest, Oct. 1954)

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

Indicating newspaper clippings and personal files as references, the two ufologists report in their book the case of Vielmur-sur-Agout, Tarn, of October 12, 1954 at about 23:30:

Mr. Roger Ramond, the night watchman of the Company of the Mills of Vielmur has his attention drawn, during a round, by a machine resembling "an elongated balloon," of orange red color, landed on the slope on a hill, on the other side of Agout. Mr. Ramond estimates that it was approximately 3 meters long, and 1,50 m in height. Consequently, the night watchman does not quit the object with the eyes anymore, and this during three hours, during which the machine eerily illuminates the vineyard.

Then, the object rises slowly, hovers during a few seconds at three hundred meters above the ground, and then rushes away in the sky at a fantastic speed.

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

Scan.

422 12 October 1954 2330 hrs

VIELMUR (FRANCE) Roger Ramonde [sic], a night watchman, saw a great light, and noticed an oval object which landed 300m away, looking like a fiery orange ball. It illuminated a vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30m above the ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed. (M247; Sud-Ouest, 12 Oct 54; Michel II, 168)

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

The two authors indicate that in Vielmur-sur-Agout in the department of Tarn on October 12, 1954 at 11:30 p.m., Roger Ramond, night watchman and city council man, observed an ovoid object of orange color of two to three meter length and one meter to one meter fifty in height.

The object moved on the hill located on the opposite slope of the river Agout where the Moulins company of Vielmur is located. It spread a clearness of violet color on a radius of 20 meters and this allowed to distinguish all the details very clearly. The appearance lasted up to 02:15 of the next day's morning.

The object then rose very slowly vertically, to hover motionless at a height from 20 to 30 meters during ten seconds. It then "disappeared like a flash."

The sources are noted as: "case 247 of the Vallée catalogue; C. Garreau and R. Lavier in "Face aux ET" page 112; La Dépêche du Midi for October 15, 1954; Quincy; Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954."

[Ref. mft3:] MICHEL FIGUET:

Nr of the J. C. Fumoux list Nr of Francat list Localization Date Class Credibility Sources Number of W
074 188 Vielmur-sur-Agout 10/12 CE3 D see 057-069 078 2-p. 157 1 W

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

This ufologist noted:

CASE Nr CLASSIFICATION DATE HOUR PLACE ZIP CODE CREDIBILITY SOURCE
188 CE0 12 10 1954 23.30 Vielmur-sur-Agout 81220 D3 D, confusion poss

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

4087: 1954/10/12 23:30 180 2:05:40 E 43:37:20 N 3333 WEU FRN TRN 8:8

VIELMUR-sur-AGOUT,FR:FIERY ORG.OVOID LANDS VINYARD/3 HRS:TURNS VERT+FLIES

Ref# 8 VALLEE,Jacques: PASSPORT TO MAGONIA. Case No. 247 : FARMLANDS

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on October 12, in France in Vielmur, Roger Raymond, night watchman, saw at 11:30 p.m. "a great light and noticed an oval object which lands 300 m further. It resembled a balloon of a fiery orange and illuminated the vineyard during nearly 3 hours (until 02:15 on 10/13/54) then, taking a vertical position, it rose slowly, hovered during a few seconds at 30 m above ground-level and took off at a fantastic speed."

She indicates that the sources are "Sud-Ouest, 12 Oct 1954" and "Jacques Vallée: 'Chronique des apparitions ET' - DENOEL 1972 - J'AI LU COLL. - p. 279".

[Ref. dgz3:] DIDIER GOMEZ:

Didier Gomez lists this case by indicating that on October 12, 1954, at 11:30 p.m., in Vielmur-sur-Agout in the Tarn, a witness sees an oval orangeish object during 2 hours 45.

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

On this Day

October 12

[...]

1954 - Roger Ramond, a night watchman, saw a great light and noticed an oval object land 300 meters away in Vielmur, France. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 meters above the ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 168; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 227).

[Ref. dgz1:] DIDIER GOMEZ:

Case 07: 10/12/1954, a red-orange balloon-shaped craft in Vielmur-sur-Agout

11:30 p.m.: Roger Ramond, councilor and night watchman, saw a great light and noticed an oval object that landed 300 meters away. It looked like a fiery orange balloon and illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours and then, taking a vertical position, it rose slowly, hovered for a few seconds 30 meters above the ground and took off at a fantastic speed.

Vielmur-sur-Agout - Mr. Roger Ramond, municipal councilor and night watchman at the Vielmur Mill Company, saw a mysterious machine in the sky.

"It was exactly 11:30 p.m., he said, when I saw on the hill on the opposite side of the Agout, at a distance of about four hundred meters, a machine in the shape of an elongated balloon, about two to three meters in length, from a height of one meter to one meter fifty, illuminated with an orange-red color. The clarity spread over a radius of twenty meters, which allowed me to distinguish very clearly vine stocks located nearby.

This apparition lasted until 2:15 in the morning. At this moment, the craft climbed very slowly vertically to stop at a height of twenty to thirty meters for about ten seconds, and disappeared like a lightning without leaving a trail.

I went to the scene in the morning but I could not observe any trace, the machine having landed on a passage of carts very trampled by the recent harvest."

Sources: "Sud-Ouest" 10/12/1954 - "La Dépêche du Midi" for 10/15/1954 - "Le Tarn Libre" issue of 10/22/1954.

Other sources: "OVNI: le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées en France" Figuet & Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publishers, 1979, p.157. "Chroniques des apparitions extraterrestres" Jacques Vallée, 1972, Frontières de l’Inconnu, case nr247.

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

Tuesday October 12 1954

[...]

11:30 p.m. In Vielmur (France), Roger Raymond (night watchman), sees a great light and notices 1 oval object which lands 300 m further. It resembles a balloon of a fiery orange and illuminates the vineyard during nearly 3 H then, taking a vertical position, rose slowly, in overflight during some S at 30 m above ground-level, then takes off at a fantastic speed.

[...]

The source is indicated as "Sud-Ouest, October 12, 1954".

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Tarn in Vielmur sur Agout on October 12, 1954 at 23:30 hours "a night watchman observes an ovoid object of orange color from two to three meter in length by one meter to one meter fifty in height. The latter moves on the hill located on the opposite slope of the [river] Agout where there is the Moulins company of Vielmur. It spreads a luminosity on a radius of 20 meters of violet color and which makes it possible to distinguish all the details very clearly. The appearance lasts until 02:15 the following day. Then it rises very slowly vertically to immobilize itself at a height from 20 to thirty meters during ten seconds. It then disappears like a flash."

The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 12 October 1954 at 23:30, "Roger Ramond, a night watchman, saw a great light and noticed an oval object land 300 meters away in Vielmur, France. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 meters above the ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed."

The website adds: "Roger Ramond, a night watchman saw a great light and noticed an oval object which landed 300 meters away. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly three hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 meters above ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed."

And: "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One orange oval object was observed by one male military witness on a farm for three hours (Ramond; Stramare)."

The source is indicated as "Vallee Magonia Database".

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 12 October 1954 at 23:30 in Vielmur-sur-Agout, France, "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One object was observed by one male military witness on a farm for three hours."

The sources are indicated 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, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."

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

*Oct. 12, 1954 - Roger Ramond, a night watchman, saw a great light and noticed an oval object land 300 meters away in Vielmur, France. It looked like a fiery orange ball, illuminated the vineyard for nearly 3 hours, then assumed a vertical position, rose slowly, hovered 30 meters above the ground for a few seconds, and took off at fantastic speed. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 168; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 227, case # 247).

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

This database recorded this case 7 times:

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur France 23.30
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur France 23.30 CE II
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur France 23.30 CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur France 23.30 CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur France 00.00 CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur Agout France 23.30 CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Vielmur France 00.00 CE I

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

October 11 1954. 2330hrs.

VIELMUR-SUR-AGOUT (TARN : FRANCE)

Night-watchman and local councillor, Roger Ramonde [sic], saw on a hillside, across the other side of the Agout River 400m away, an elongated object 2-3m long, 1-1.5m high, which illuminated the area with a red orange light. It stayed there till 0200, at which it rose vertically for 30m, then took off in a flash

Evaluation - Alain Gamard reported that Michel Figuet had concluded the case was a hoax. The time suggests an astronomical object, later disappearing behind cloud

Explanations:

Map.

There is a big problem with the date: the case takes place between 11:30 p.m. and 2:15 a.m., and first appeared in Sud-Ouest for October 12, 1954.

It cannot therefore have taken place on October 12, 1954. Let us add that the day after the sighting the witness went to the "landing" spot, and even October 11, 1954, seems a bit early.

The newspaper Sud-Ouest did not cover the Tarn department; which suggests that there would probably have been a local and previous press source in the Tarn published before October 12, 1954.

In reality, therefore, there is no reliable date, in any case October 12, 1954 and October 14, 1954 are not possible dates.

Regarding the observation, the beginning could make think of a low Moon, but the duration seems too long. It would also have taken something that would have come "up", a meteor coming from the distant horizon, at the end of a moon setting at 02:15 a.m. It hardly seems credible to me.

There is no clear direction. However, we are told that the "craft" was on a hill located "on the opposite slope of the Agout":

Carte.

The direction suggests that the "craft" was roughly to the south. And Vielmur-sur-Agout is on flat ground while there is indeed a hill to the south just after the bridge:

Photo.

Roger Emile Ramond passed in 1975.

The case has not been investigated as far as I now now; which does not make it a very "good" case.

On October 10, 1954 at 2 a.m., the Moon is at 238°; it sets at 4:41 a.m., and it is a full moon. On the 9th at 2 a.m., it was at 244°, it set at 03:26. On the 8th, it was at 249° and set at 02:13 a.m. On the 7th, it was at 254° but already set at 01:03 a.m.

We can therefore see that in the plausible dates of October 10, 9 or 8, 1954, the Moon is not exactly in the South but towards the South-West, it is a full Moon, and it is setting. Since there is the hill, it can appear to be setting before the actual time of passage behind a flat horizon. We cannot therefore completely exclude the Moon.

On the other hand, I have so far found no clue of a meteor passing in the region around 02:15 a.m., which would have explained the last phase of the observation.

I therefore classify the case as an "unidentified" but of low reliability for lack of investigation.

Keywords:

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

Vielmur-sur-Agout, Tarn, Roger Ramond, Roger Raymond, guard, balloon, object, elongated, purple, red, orange, hill, duration, luminous, stationary, fast

Sources:

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

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross April 7, 2003 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross March 11, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [mcs1], [goe1], [djn1], [jbu1], [lcn1], [uda1, [uda2].
1.1 Patrick Gross June 29, 2010 Addition [jve5].
1.2 Patrick Gross November 15, 2014 Addition [nip1].
1.3 Patrick Gross February 21, 2017 Addition [ubk1].
1.4 Patrick Gross November 12, 2021 Additions [gqy1], [prn1], [mft3], [mft1], [lhh1], [dgz3], [dgz1], [prn2], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not yet looked for."
1.5 Patrick Gross May 6, 2022 Addition [gqy2].
1.6 Patrick Gross June 25, 2022 Addition [jve8].

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