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ALSACAT:

As its name suggests, ALSACAT is my comprehensive catalog of UFO sighting reports in Alsace, the region is the North-East of France, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ALSACAT catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file. A general index and thematic sub-catalogs give access to these Alsatian case files.

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Case of Galfingue, on August 1954:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1954-08-00-GALFINGUE-1

Summary:

French ufologist Alain Gamard noted in his file, seemingly without providing a source, that in August 1954, in Galfingue in the Haut-Rhin, a man who remains anonymous had seen in a cut wheat field a luminous sphere posed on the ground, and small beings around this object.

He fled.

The case was listed in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit for the first time in 1969, then the few details given above were published in the same Magazine by CNEGU's Raoul Robé. In 2006, Christian Valentin, retired regional journalist who investigates UFO sightings in Alsace made a short investigation and found no confirmation of the story.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: August 1954
Time: ?
Duration: ?
First known report date: 1983
Reporting delay: 3 decades.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Galfingue
Place: UFO posed in a cut wheat field.
Latitude: 47.706
Longitude: 7.216
Uncertainty ratio: 5 km

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 1
Number of known witnesses: ?
Number of named witnesses: 0
Witness(es) ages: ?
Witness(es) types: Man.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: French ufologist Alain Gamard.
Type of location: UFO posed in a cut wheat field.
Visibility conditions: ?
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: No
UFO departure observed: No
Entities: Yes
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): No.
Witness(es) feelings: Frightened.
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: CE3
ALSACAT: Unknown credibility, insufficient data.

Sources:

[Ref. fle1:] FERNAND LAGARDE:

Numbering Dictionnary page Departement Nr Nam of locations Faults
Just above at 2 km 500 Up to 5 km
132 302 68 GALFINGUE 1

[Note: this ufologist thought (essentially wrongly) that there is a connection between UFO sighting spots and geological faults.]

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

This ufologist noted:

CASE Nr CLASSIFICATION DATE HOUR PLACE ZIP CODE CREDIBILITY SOURCE
56 CE3 .. 08 1954 22 h - 23 h Galfingue 68500 C5 RS, LDLN file

[Ref. rre1:] MAGAZINE D'UFOLOGIE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

Scan.

Case Nr 13

In August 1954 in Galfingue (68) - (CP: T2)

In a field of cut wheat, Mr. X. sees a luminous sphere resting on the ground. He sees small beings around the object and flees. (Ref.: A. Gamard, LDLN, LDLN file).

[Ref. mye1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LES MYSTERES DE L'EST":

Scan.

Case nr 6:

In August 1954, in Galfingue (68), in a field of cut wheat, Mr. X... saw a luminous sphere, posed on the ground. He sees small beings around the object and runs away.

Sources: LDLN according to A. Gamard; mo mention in the local press.

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

Ufologist and author Jean Sider indicates that in Galfingue in the Haut-Rhin, in August 1954, a witness who asked for the respect of his anonymity saw a luminous sphere posed on the ground in a field. He noticed that two small beings were busy nearby. He was frightened and fled without trying to know more of it.

Sider gives the ufology magazine "Lumières Dans La Nuit" page 40, #267-268 as source.

[Ref. rre3:] RAOUL ROBE:

The case of Galfingue (68), which occurred in August and quoted in our catalog with the only source of the LDLN file according to A. Gamard, is reproduced as such by J. Sider who quotes LDLN #267-268, actually editing... our own CNEGU catalog (!). We would have appreciated that this "great collaborator" of the said magazine tells us a little more about this case, because we will never have access to this LDLN file, because of the hostility of its editor against us.

[...]

It is also amusing to note that certain references [by Jean Sider] of unidentified cases (ex: August 7 - Galfingue - page 163) come from... our own catalog, published in LDLN #267-268! It is always easy to criticize those who propose solutions based on the scant data of the time, but whose fault is it that the records of these 1954 cases are so poorly informed?

[Note: Raoul Robé reacts to Sider's 1997 book about the French saucer flap of 1954 [jsr1]. Sider vehemently alluded to "debunkers of the East" (of France), that is, CNEGU members such as Raoul Robé, indeed "skeptical" ufologists. So, Robé replies that Sider copied CNEGU's information on the case and accuses that access to the original data is not allowed to them because of the hostiliy of LDLN editor Joël Mesnard against CNEGU. The mystery here is, where did Robé get the data, if not from LDLN?]

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

3677: 1954/08/00 00:00 1 7:13:00 E 47:42:00 N 3311 WEU FRN HRH 8:6

GALFINGUE,FR:LUMn SPHERE/CUT WHEATFIELD:2 OIDS BUSY OUTSIDE:obs runs:/LDLN#267

Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 163 : FARMLANDS

[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in "Galfinque" [sic], Haut-Rhin, France, in August 1954, in the evening, "A witness who asked to remain anonymous saw a luminous sphere posed on the ground in a field. He noticed that two small beings were busy nearby. He was frightened and fled without further investigating."

The source is noted "Jean Sider quoting “Lumieres Dans La Nuit” # 267-268". Another version of the file has the source "Source: Les Ovnis vus de pres."

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in August 1954 in Galfingue, France, "Luminous sphere in cut wheat field. two humanoids busy outside object. Witness flees." And: "Close encounter with a an unidentified craft and its occupants. One luminous sphere was observed by one witness in a field for over one minute. Two dwarves were seen."

The source is indicated as "Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in 1954 at 21:00 in "Galfinque" [sic], France, "A large luminous sphere was seen landing on a field. The witness's vehicle engine stalled as two short humanoids approached the car. No other information."

The source is a link to a missing web page.

[Ref. isu1:] "ISUNDGAU" BLOG:

This blog presents several cases in Alsace they fished on the web, including this one:

1954: In Galfingue, a luminous sphere lands in a field. The witness flees because there are "little beings" who are busy around the machine.

There is no source reference for this case, cited among other cases. There is simply, at the end of the article, a series of links to several ufology websites and web pages, including a link to the old URL of the home page of my own website.

[Ref. cvn2:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:

Former journalist Christian Valentin published in 2012 a very interesting book telling the story of UFO sightings, flying saucers sightings, in Alsace, from the beginning to 1980.

In this book, he gives this summary of a case in Galfingue in August 1954:

"In a field of cut wheat, the witness, who requested anonymity, sees a luminous sphere posed on the ground. He sees small beings around the object and flees."

He indicates that the sources are given as "A. Gamard, LDLN file, LDLN", "Lumières dans la Nuit # 267/268 page 40."

He comments that LDLN refers to the LDLN file of ufologist Alain Gamard; which does not gives us the source of the information and thus there is a major reliability issue.

He adds that the short investigation he made in 2006 to some residents did not allow for a confirmation of the information.

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:

August 1954.

GALFINGUE (HAUT-RHIN : FRANCE)

A man saw a luminous sphere with little beings around it in a field of cut corn, and ran away.

Alain Gamard citing LDLN files.

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

Location: Galfinque [sic], Haut-Rhin, France

Date: August 1954

Time: evening

A witness who asked to remain anonymous saw a luminous sphere posed on the ground in a field. He noticed that two small beings were busy nearby. He was frightened and fled without further investigating.

Source: Jean Sider quoting "Lumieres Dans La Nuit" # 267-268

[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:

The author indicates that there was a close encounter of the third kind in Galfingue, the Haut-Rhin, on an undetermined day in August 1954, at an unknown hour, with an anonymous witness:

In a field of cut wheat, the witness saw a luminous sphere posed on the ground, and he noticed two small beings busy around the object. The frightened witness fled without trying to find out more.

Julien Gonzalez indicates that the source is Lumières dans la Nuit, #267-268, page 40.

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

August 1954.

GALFINGUE (HAUT-RHIN : FRANCE)

A man saw a luminous sphere with little beings around it in a field of cut corn, and ran away.

Alain Gamard citing Lumieres dans le [sic] Nuit files

Discussion:

Map.

No precise date, no hour, no decent description of the object and the beings, an unidentified witness, no source, no trace in the regional Press, and Christian Valentin finding nothing about it.

This hardly makes it a convincing case.

Evaluation:

Unknown credibility, insufficient data.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author: Patrick Gross
Contributors: None
Reviewers: None
Editeur: Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version: Create/changed by: Date: Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross January 2, 2006 First published in the France 1954 catalogue.
1.0 Patrick Gross February 24, 2010 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [ars1], [uda1], [uda2].
1.1 Patrick Gross August 18, 2010 Addition [rre1].
1.2 Patrick Gross February 6, 2015 Additions [cvn2], [prn1], [tai1], Summary, Explanations.
1.3 Patrick Gross February 6, 2015 First published in the ALSACAT catalogue.
1.4 Patrick Gross January 18, 2017 Addition [jgz1].
1.5 Patrick Gross February 14, 2018 Addition [isu1].
1.6 Patrick Gross February 6, 2019 Additions [fle1], [mft1], [rre3], [lhh1], [prn2].
1.7 Patrick Gross May 24, 2021 Addition [mye1].

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This page was last updated on May 24, 2021.