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November 13, 1954, Buchy, Seine-Maritime:

Reference for this case: 13-nov-54-Buchy.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The regional newspaper Le Courrier Cauchois, of Yvetot, quoted on November 23, 1954, a letter from one Mr. R. L., "totally worthy of faith", as it came from a well-known personality of Rouen, "who is not considered to be gullible."

The man said that in the night from Friday to Saturday around 2 a.m., he was returning from Buchy driving his 4 CV car, and was preparing to engage on the National Road 28 which goes from Neufchatel to Rouen.

He had passed the railway crossing by 500-meter when he suddenly saw a light that seemed to be parked on the right side of the road, about a hundred meters ahead of him.

Immediately, the "thing" took off and departed to the north, but instead of rising vertically, "as usually, the craft seemed to oscillate a few meters above the ground. The gleam, of a greenish white, was regularly intermittent and seemed to precede a dark mass which seemed to progress by jumps at a speed that I estimate about 150 km/hour."

When he arrived at the level where the craft was supposed to be when he saw it initially, he felt "like paralyzed", and from 90 km per hour, the speed at which he was driving, he had to slow down to the second gear, without being aware of slowing down voluntarily.

The man said that he does "not claim to have been subjected to an external influence, but not being accustomed to be impressed by nothing, I cannot explain such an effect of 'inhibition'..."

Some sources indicate that the case was also published in the newspaper Paris-Normandie for November 15, 1954, i.e. 8 days before.

Then, in 1956, the science-fiction writer and pioneering ufologist Jimmy Guieu reported that he knew the witness of this sighting personally, he was his friend. Guieu said he considered him to be a solid man, absolutely sincere, who was scared but did not panic. Guieu gives a story which is for word by word that of R. L.'s letter to the newspaper, adding simply that when the luminous object had moved away and finally disappeared, the witness was able to drive normally again.

Guieu also added that at the time the witness had felt "paralyzed", he had "experienced a curious tingle all over his body".

Reports:

[Ref. ccx1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER CAUCHOIX":

Scan.

Again near Buchy

Another testimony for the "unidentified craft" file

"In the night from Friday to Saturday around 2 o'clock in the morning, I was going back from Buchy, at the wheel from my 4 CV [ordinary French car], and prepared to engage on the R.N. [National Road] 28, from Neufchatel to Rouen, Mr. R. I... said, when I witnessed the following scene:

"I had exceeded the level crossing by 500 meters approximately when I suddenly saw a gleam, which seemed to station on the right edge of the road, at a hundred meters in front of me. At once, the "thing" took off and flees towards the north, but instead of rising vertically, as usual, the craft seemed to undulate at a few meters of the ground. The gleam, of a greenish white, was regularly intermittent and seemed to precede a dark mass which seemed to progress by jumps at a speed that I estimate about 150 km/hour.

"Arriving at the level where the machine was when I saw it, I do not know what occurs, but I felt like paralyzed, and from 90 km per hour, the speed at which I drove, I soon had to go in second gear, without having been aware that I voluntarily slowed down.

"I do not claim to have been subjected to an external influence, but not being accustomed to be impressed by nothing, I cannot explain such an effect of " inhibition "...

This testimony is totally worthy of faith as it comes from a personality extremely well-known from Rouen, who is not considered to be gullible.

[Ref. jgu1:] JIMMY GUIEU:

Science-fiction writer and pioneer ufologist Jimmy Guieu notes that he personally knows the witness of this case, his friend Mr. R.L., of Rouen, that he judges to be a solid man, absolutely sincere, which was frightened but did not yield to panic. He provides his friend's account:

At 2 o'clock in the morning of Saturday, November 13, 1954, he was returning from Buchy in the Seine-Maritime at the wheel of his 4CV car and was on the point of getting on national road RN 28 from Neufchatel to Rouen. He had exceeded the railway crossing of 500 meters approximately when he suddenly saw a gleam, that seemed to be posed on the right side of the road at a hundred meters in front of him. The thing took off at once and fled towards the north, without rising vertically, but undulating at a few meters above ground-level.

It was a gleam of a white greenish which was regularly intermittent and seemed to precede a dark mass while appearing to progress by jumps at a speed that he estimated as of 150 km/h.

When he arrived at the level where the machine was when he first saw it, he did not understand what occurred when he felt strange tickling on all his body and felt like paralyzed. He had driven at 90 km/h but he had to go in second gear, without being aware to have voluntarily slowed down.

The luminous object moved away, ended up disappearing and he could drive normally again.

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

Scan.

November 13 [,1954]

[... other cases...]

02:00 a.m.: 6 km O.Buchy(--Seine-Maritime): take off of luminous craft + tingling automobilist +slowdown engine

[... other cases...]

[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:

Scan.

November 13, 1954: Crossroads Nal.Rd.28-Nal.Rd. 319(at 6 km INS in the WSW. of Buchy--Seine-Maritime): Mr. R.L..., of Rouen (talke off of luminous craft/tingling/paralysis/slowdown of the 4 CV engine/UFO moving by leaps)

[Ref. mcs1:] "MICHEL CARROUGES":

The author indicates that on November 13, 1954 in the Seine-Maritime, R.L. in a car sees a craft taking off with an intermittent white-greenish gleam at 100 meters in front of him at the edge of the road. When he arrives at the level where the craft had been he feels prickling and an effect of paralysis.

The source is indicated as "G. II. p. 170."

[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:

408 -001.27521 49.57560 13 11 1954 INTER.RN28-RN319 F 001133 G

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Jacques Vallée indicates that on November 13, 1954, close to Buchy, a luminous apparatus flew away while the witnesses were paralyzed and felt tingling. The engine of their car slowed down, but did not stall.

[Ref. fle1:] FERNAND LAGARDE:

This ufologist listed in a table a case in Buchy in department 76, with the source Flying Saucer Review 182. [FSR did not use this type of numbering, it is a case number].

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Scan.

337 November 13, 1954, Buchy (France):

At intersection of Routes N28 and N319, Mr. R. L., of Rouen, saw a luminous craft take off while he felt tickling and was paralyzed. The engine of the car slowed down but did not stall. (Quincy).

[Ref. gab1:] "G.A.B.R.I.E.L." UFOLOGY GROUP:

17) 11/13/1954 Buchy (Seine-Maritime) (02 : 00)

Witness M. R. L., Rouen personality and acquaintance of J. Guieu. The witness was traveling in a 4 cv on the N28 when he saw a glow that seemed to be parked on the right side of the road. An object flew away and disappeared to the north.

Arriving at the spot where the object must have been parked, the witness felt tingling throughout the body, was almost "paralyzed" and his car was inexplicably slowed down.

G .2 p. 170- V.c # 337.

NOTE: At present, this case is a unique case of delayed "paralysis". For "impossible" that such a state of affairs may appear, there can be no question of denying it outright.

A thorough investigation is required.

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

The two authors indicate that the case in Buchy in the Seine-Maritime of November 13, 1954 is sparsely documented in Jacques Vallée's catalogue and LDLN for January 1970:

At the intersection of the roads RN 28 and RN 319, Mr. R.L., of Rouen, saw a luminous machine taking off, he then felt tickling and was paralyzed. His car's engine had slowed down but did not stop.

[Ref. gab2:] "G.A.B.R.I.E.L." UFOLOGY GROUP:

13/11/1954 Buchy (Seine Maritime).

The witness felt tingling and was paralyzed.

We stop here this "catalog" that we voluntarily limited to the phenomena of type 1 (Vallée Classification) which took place on the French soil for the year 1954 only.

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

Scan.

519 13 November 1954

BUCHY (FRANCE) At the intersections of Rt N28 and N319, Mr R.L. of Rouen, saw a luminous craft giving off an imtermittent greenish-white light, take off. He felt pricklings, and was paralysed. The engine of his car slowed down, but did not stall. (M337; Quincy; Carrouges S, 171; Guieu II, 170)

[Ref. gab3:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":

11/13/1954 Buchy (Seine Maritime)

Around 2 a.m., Mr. R. L. saw a light that seemed to be stationary 100m away on the side of the road. An object took off, seeming to undulate a few feet above the ground. A greenish-white glow seemed to precede a dark mass which progressed in leaps, it was intermittent. Arriving at the place where the craft had landed, Mr. R. L.. felt tingling, was paralyzed and the engine of his vehicle slowed down. (J. Guieu)

This is, to our knowledge, the only example of delayed effects. We do not see how radiation could remain on site once its source has been interrupted. This would be like saying that a lamp would have remained lit after the switch was turned off. However, it is not because this case shocks our logic that we must purely and simply classify it in the pile of mystifications. Admittedly, the "Flying Saucers" phenomenon presents a coherent whole but it also includes isolated inexplicable facts.

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

The two authors indicate that on November 13, 1954, at 2 hours of the morning, Mr. R.L., a personality of Rouen and a relation of the ufologist and science-fiction writer Jimmy Guieu returned in a 4CV car from Buchy on the secondary road D 919 and was on the point of starting on national road RN 28 from Neufchatel to Rouen and had just exceeded a railway crossing of 500 meters approximately, when he saw a white greenish gleam which seemed to be posed on the right edge of the road at a hundred meters of him.

That took off at once while undulating, at a few meters of the ground. The gleam is regularly intermittent and seems to precede a dark mass which advances by jumps at a speed that he estimated as of 150 km/h.

At the time when he arrived at the level of the landing spot, he felt strange tickling on all the body and felt paralyzed. "from 90 km/h, the speed at which he drove, he had to go in second gear, without to have been aware to have voluntarily slowed down."

The object moved away and all was normal again.

The authors quote Jacques Vallée, Jimmy Guieu, Guy Quincy and the newspaper Paris-Normandie for November 15, 1954, as sources.

[Ref. mrr1:] MARK RODEGHIER:

Nov, 13, 1954

FRANCE, near Buchy: A luminous UFO rose from the ground as the engine of the witnesses' car slowed but did not fail completely. They also were paralyzed and felt pricklings on their skin. (The Humanoids, Bowen)

[Note: There was only one witness, apparently.]

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

This ufologist noted:

CASE Nr CLASSIFICATION DATE HOUR PLACE ZIP CODE CREDIBILITY SOURCE
277 CE2 11 13 1854 [sic, 1954] 02.00 Buchy "Vieux-Manoir" 76750 D5 NI, (OVNI: p. 212)

[Ref. ccx1:] CHRISTIAN SOUDET:

In the classifieds of the LDLN magazine, it is indicated that ufologist Christian Soudet is looking for documents in order to establish a regional catalog, and notes among other things that he is looking for an article from the newspaper "Paris-Normandie for 11/15/54". related to the Buchy case of November 13, 1954.

[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:

November 13th. Buchy, France. (3:30 a.m.)

Resting on the ground next to the intersection of Routes N28 and N319 at Rouen, France, was a luminous object that gave off flickering green-white rays of light. A motorist with the initials "R.L.," had trouble with his car's electric system as his vehicle passed the UFO. Although the engine missed a lot, it did not completely fail. The driver experienced paralysis and a prickling sensation. 51.

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

118 - November 13, 2 a.m., D919, Buchy, Seine-Maritime.

Mr. R... L... (narrative by J. Guieu).

The witness drives a Renault 4CV. He suddenly sees a greenish blue glow that seems parked on the side of the road a hundred meters in front of him. Then the thing takes off, undulating, a few meters above the ground. The glow seems to precede a dark mass which advances in leaps and bounds at an estimated speed of about one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. Arriving at the landing point, the witness experiences strange tingling all over his body and feels paralyzed. The object moves away and the witness recovers his mobility. It should be noted that he was forced to switch to second gear, without having had the impression of slowing down, the car still traveling at ninety kilometers per hour.

Source: Figuet, p. 212.

[Ref. jsc1:] JOHN F. SCHUESSLER:

1954/11/13 FRANCE, near BUCHY

Source:
UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS
The Humanoids

Two witnesses observed a luminous object rise from the ground. They felt prickling on their skin and were paralyzed. The car's engine slowed but did not fail.

EFFECTS:

Paralysis
Prickling
EM effect on car

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that on November 13, 1954 in France in Buchy "At the intersection of roads N 28 and N 319 the witness saw a luminous machine which took off. He then felt tickling and was paralyzed. His car's engine slowed down but did not stall."

The sources are indicated as "Quincy" and "Jacques Vallée: 'Chronique des apparitions ET' - DENOEL 1972 - J'AI LU COLL. - p. 292".

[Ref. buc1:] "THE BIBLE-UFO CONNECTION" WEBSITE:

France, Buchy: At intersection of Routes N28 and N319, Mr. R. L., of Rouen, saw a luminous craft takeoff while he feIt prickling and was paralyzed. The engine of the car slowed down but did not stall.

[Ref. fbn1:] FABRICE BONVIN:

Fabrice Bonvin notes:

Case #008: 13/11/1954, p. 212 (Vieux-Manoir)

[Ref. fbn2:] FABRICE BONVIN:

In a table, Fabrice Bonvin notes selected cases of the 1954 French flap, including this one:

Case Nmbr witnesses Hours Type objects
Vieux-Manoir 1 1 4

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

4392: 1954/11/13 03:30 1 1:22:00 E 49:34:40 N 3333 WEU FRN SMR 7:7

BUCHY,FR:CAR SLOWS:LUMn OBJ LANDS+TAKES OFF:OBS PARALYZED BRIEFLY:/r79p5.

Ref# 8 VALLEE,Jacques: PASSPORT TO MAGONIA. Case No. 337 : ROAD+RAILS

[Ref. edr1:] EMMANUEL DEHLINGER:

Place Approximate Coordinates Date 1954 Local Time Duration Sky Distance and move of the ufo Altitude of the ufo Angle B of the sun on the horizon Azimut of the sun Angle B of the moon on the horizon Azimut of the moon EL state of night Cas Commente Ref.
Ernemont-sur-Buchy (Seine-Maritime) 1° 22' E
49° 32' N
Oct 23 05:00C to 06:00C 1 h 300 m On the ground -24° 29'
-14° 50'
78°
90°
7° 41'
16° 36'
101°
113°
10%- NC, ECS (à 05:41C) NC6, J1 Craft emitting strange lights. The ECS effect will be proportionaly counted (19 min). N° 324
p. 35

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

November 1954

[... Other cases...]

13

[... Other cases...]

In Buchy (France), at the intersection of the roads N28 and N319, Mr. R.L., of Rouen, sees 1 luminous machine which takes off. He then feels prickling and is paralyzed. The engine of his car slows down but does not stall.

[... Other cases...]

The source is indicated as "Quincy".

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Seine Maritime in Buchy on November 13, 1954, at 02:00 hours, "the witness drives by the car on the D919. He is on the point of starting on the N28 from Neuchâtel to Rouen. He has just passed a railway crossing by 500 m when he sees a greenish white gleam which seems to station on the right edge of the road a hundred meters in front of him. At once the object takes off while undulating at a few meters of the ground. The gleam is intermittent and seems to precede a dark mass which advances by jumps at a speed that the witness estimates as 150 km/h. Arriving at the height of the landing spot, the witness feels tickling on all the body and feels paralyzed. The car slows down without the witness being conscious to slow down. The object moves away and all becomes normal again."

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 13 November 1954 in Buchy, France, "At intersection of Routes N28 and N319, Mr. R. L, of Rouen, saw a luminous craft take off while he felt prickling and was paralyzed. The engine of the car slowed down but did not stall."

The source is indicated as "Vallee Magonia Database".

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 13 November 1954 at 03:30 on the RN28, near Buchy River, France, "An object was observed. Electromagnetic and physiological effects were noted. One luminous object was observed by one male witness on a highway."

The sources are indicated as Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956; 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); Carrouges, Michel, Les Apparitions de Martiens, Fayard, Paris, 1963; Rodeghier, Mark, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, Chicago, 1981; Falla, Geoffrey, Vehicle Interference Project, BUFORA, London, 1979; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Date: November 13 1954

Location: Buchy France

Time:

At intersection of Routes N28 and N319, Mr. R. L., of Rouen, saw a luminous craft take off while he feIt prickling and was paralyzed. The engine of the car slowed down but did not stall.

Source: Magonia 337

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

This database recorded the case 9 times instead of one:

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19541113 13.11.1954 Buchy France 02.00 CE II
19541113 13.11.1954 France CE II
19541113 13.11.1954 Buchy France CE II
19541113 13.11.1954 Buchy France
19541113 13.11.1954 Buchy France CE II
19541113 13.11.1954 Buchy France
19541113 13.11.1954 France
19541113 13.11.1954 France
19541113 13.11.1954 Buchy France

[This database recorded the same case nine times instead of one.]

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

November 13 1954. 0200 BUCHY (SEINE-ARITIME [sic]: FRANCE)

MR R L of Rouen was driving his $CV [sic] into Buchy, when 500m past the level crossing before the intersection with the RN 28, he saw a glowing object parked on the road 100m ahead. The object then took off and sped off northwards at about 150 kph, just a few metres above the ground. He now saw that it was a dark mass emitting an intermittent green white glow. As he approached the thing, he felt tingly and paralyzed and his car began to slow down from 90kph as if by itself. When the strange object disappeared the car function normally. (Gross 1954. citing Guieu 1956b p194 + letter from (anonymous) witness in Le Courier Cauchois 23 November 1954. : : Vallee case 337 citing also Quincy 1961)

Evaluation - Gross suggests another helicopter. Alternativly [sic] the moon is possible, and given that Mr R L was anonymous and "a friend" of Jimmy Guieu's, the possibility of a hoax by Guieu shouldn't be ruled out)

Explanations:

Map.

The date is given in Le Courier Cauchois for November 23, 1954 as being "in the night from Friday to Saturday around 2 am", which would mean November 20, 1954. But apparently, the case had been reported already in Paris-Normandie on November 15, 1954, source which I do not have yet. The date would be then, if one preserves the "in the night of Friday to Saturday towards 2 am" given in the witness letter as quoted in Le Courrier Cauchois, Saturday, November 13, 1954, the date given in all the ufological sources. This tends to prove that there was indeed an article about the case in Paris-Normandie on the 15th, otherwise everyone would have dated the case to the 20th.

Peter Rogerson, an ufologist who became "skeptical", in 2016 [prn2] notes my proposal for a misinterpretation of a helicopter I made in 2006, but suggests as the first alternative that the witness would have mistaken the moon for a UFO. This happens indeed, but in this case, at this date and time and place, the moon was at an elevation of 61° in the sky. (0°, it would be the moon on the horizon, 90°, it would be the moon over the witness' head.) Now, on the one hand lunar misunderstandings occur most often with a low moon, rarely with a moon high in the sky, and secondly, Mr. RL sees his object as being on the ground (let's not even mention its takeoff, the intermittent light, greenish! (*) etc. I think therefore that Peter Rogerson is wrong, and that he did not even consult a sky map - which is something to do in ufology.

Degrees.

4 CV car.

The witness in a 4 CV (above) drove from Neufchatel-en-Bray to Rouen, a trip of about 40 km:

Map.

He said he had just entered National Road 28; which does not exist anymore, it is now highway A 28, alias "route des Estuaires",. Of course it is not certain, although likely, that A28 used the same path as RN 28. He also said to have exceeded the railway crossing by about 500 meters. Only one place on the A 28 coming from Neufchatel and going towards Rouen cuts a railway line, one can find the observatioj spot 500 meters further. It is 5 km north-northwest of Vieux-Manoir.

Black line: the railway. Blue dot: the railway crossing. Yellow line: 500 meters. Red dot: place where the witness first saw the UFO.

The witness then drives in the direction 158°, the road keeping this direction in a straight line for almost two kilometers. The witness located the UFO at 100 meters (this is not reliable), in front of him on the right side of the road (this is reliable). The UFO was therefore in the 158° direction, while the moon is at 127°, which is 30° to the left of the road. And the UFO goes away to the "north," and it "seemed to oscillate at a few meters above the ground." It does not coincide with the moon.

Peter Rogerson points out that the witness was a friend of Jimmy Guieu - it is Guieu himself who tells this - and that it could be a hoax. I am not very convinced.

On the one hand, if it is true that Guieu supported known witnesses hoaxes, and started to tell much nonsense, this was all in the years 1970 to 2000, I have no example of inventions by Guieu in the 1950s. There were so many convincing (at least for him) saucer reports anyway in those years that I do not see any need to invent more of them.

On the other hand, for an invention, if this was made up, it is not a very impressive invention, as the description of events by the witness made me consider it was just a helicopter.

Keywords:

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

Buchy, Seine-Maritime, multiple, luminous, object, landing, prickling, effects, car, motor, engine, paralyzed, anonymous, white, green, dark, mass, night, low, road, railway crossing

Sources:

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

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross October 22, 2006 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross June 11, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [jbu1], [lcn1], [uda1], [uda2].
1.1 Patrick Gross December 24, 2009 Addition [mcs1].
1.2 Patrick Gross July 1, 2010 Addition [jve5].
1.3 Patrick Gross July 9, 2010 Addition [fbn2].
1.4 Patrick Gross October 28, 2011 Addition [ccx1], [buc1], [edr1].
1.5 Patrick Gross November 22, 2016 Additions [lgs1], [tai1], [ubk1].
1.4 Patrick Gross November 27, 2018 Additions [fle1], [gab1], [gab2], [mrr1], [mft1], [cst1], [lhh1], [prn2]. Addition of the Summary. Explanations chaged, were "Not looked for yet. Possible helicopter."
1.7 Patrick Gross November 10, 2021 Additions [gqy1], [prn1].
1.8 Patrick Gross December 4, 2021 Addition [gqy2].
1.9 Patrick Gross July 2, 2022 Addition [jsr1].
2.0 Patrick Gross July 9, 2022 Addition [gab3].

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