The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 30-Aug-54-Château-Gontier.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
Aimé Michel reported in his 1958 book on the 1954 French wave that the object observed in Angers and Lion d'Angers on September 1st, 1954, at 08:20 p.m., was last seen at 08:20 p.m. also, by witnesses in Château-Gontier, 45 kilometers north of Angers, who had also seen it cross the sky towards the north, where they noted its disappearance in about a minute. In Laval, further north, it was not seen.
He also stated that the object seen in Château-Gontier was similar to the one observed in Roubaix on September 15, 1954 and in Angers on September 1st, 1954: red color, green halo and circular shape.
The object, it seems to me, was likely a meteor, in any case, nothing allows to calls it an "unidentified flying object" apart from the poverty of the report; but several ufological sources after Aimé Michel did not seem to have thought about this.
[Ref. cia1:] CIA:
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INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROACASTS
| COUNTRY: | Non-Orbit | DATE OF INFORMATION: | 1954 | |
| SUBJET: | Military - Unidentified flying objects | |||
| HOW PUBLISHED: | Dail[y] newspaper | DATE DIST.: | 29 oct 1954 | |
| WHERE PUBLISHED: | As indicated | NO. OF PAGES: | 5 | |
| DATE PUBLISHED: | 31 Jul - 20 Sep 1954 | |||
| LANGUAGES: | Various | SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO.: | ||
| [Blackened out] | [Blackened out] | THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION | ||
| SOURCE: | As indicated |
SIGHTINGS OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS,
31 JULY - 20 SEPTEMBER 1954
WESTERN EUROPE
[... (Reports from other countries) ...]
France
"FLYING DISK" SIGHTED IN WESTERN FRANCE -- Algiers, Alger Republicain, 4 Sep 54
A disk-shaped object was (no date given) observed by various persons simultaneously at about 2020 hours, flying over Angers and Lion-d'Angers, both in La Maine-et-Loire Department, and over Chateau-Gontier, Mayenne Department. The object was generally described as being brown and emitting a short trail of and odd hue of green. According to Claire Cordier, a nurse in Angers, the object gave off a soft drone, and its glow was reminiscent of the light in neon tubes. The phenomenon was visible for several minutes.
[... (Next reports)]
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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September 1° [1954]
08:30 p.m.: Château-Gontier (Mayenne)
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel briefly reports that the object observed in Angers and Lion d'Angers on September 1, 1954, at 08:20 p.m. was last seen at 8:20 p.m. also by witnesses at Château-Gontier, 45 kilometers north of Angers, who also saw it crossing the sky towards the north, where they noted its disappearance in about a minute. In Laval, further north, it was not seen.
He also states that the object seen in Chateau-Gontier was similar to that observed in Roubaix on September 15, 1954 and in Angers on September 1, 1954: red color, green halo and circular shape.
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that in 1953, on September 1, in France, in Château Gontier, people of Lion d'Angers, 22 kilometers more in the north on main road 162, started to see in their turn the object seen by Claire Cordier in Anger. "Their description is identical (...) the last witnesses are reported in Château Gontier, in the Mayenne, at45 km in the north of Angers."
The ufologist indicates that her source is: "Aimé MICHEL: 'Apropos des Soucoupes Volantes', PLANETE pub., 1966, p./45.
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
01
[...]
20:20 An object in the shape of a disc is observed simultaneously by various people, flying above Angers and Lion d'Angers (the Maine-and-Loire) and above Chateau Gontier (Mayenne). The object is generally described as dark or emitting a trail of smoke of a strange blue or green. According to Claire Cordier, a nurse of Angers, the object released a gentle buzzing sound, and its gleam reminded that of the neon tubes. The phenomenon remained visible during several minutes.
[...]
Jérôme Beau indicates that the source is "Un 'disque volant' observé dans l'Ouest de la France", Alger Républicain, September 4, 1954.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Mayenne in Château Gontier on September 1, 1954 at 20:20, several people observe a brown red disc with green reflections moving towards the north.
He indicates that his source is "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 1 September 1954 at 20:20 in Chateau-Gontier, France, "A flying disc was observed. Multiple independent witnesses. One brown disc was observed by more than two witnesses for over one minute. No sound was heard."
The source is indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958".
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540901 | 01.09.1954 | Chateau Gontier | France | 20.20 | NL |
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The 08:20 p.m. meteor of August 30, 1954.
Below: Map of the sightings in the area on August 30, 1954, at 08:20 p.m. The two witnesses in Angers and those in Château-Gontier are well localized. Those of Le Lion-d'Angers are not, we only know that they were on National Road 162 and are residents of Lion-d'Angers.
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The distance in straight line between Angers and Château-Gontier is about 41 km.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Château-Gontier, Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne, Mayenne, multiple, disc, night, brown, trail, green, hue, light, neon
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 28, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 19, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [jbu1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | November 20, 2016 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | August 16, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, was "Probable meteor." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 20, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]. |
