The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Dijon.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
According to the 1958 book of the ufologist Aimé Michel, on October 3, 1954, at 08:45 p.m. in Dijon, several people who stood in the Charles-Aubertin street saw in the sky a spherical object a little smaller as the full moon and spreading a bright green color. Michel indicates the object was heading south at a high speed, higher than that of an airplane but lower than that of a meteor.
[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":
The newspaper reports on October 6, 1954, with no other information, that there was a sighting in Dijon. The date is not given but the sighting is mentioned among others that took place on October 2 and 3, 1954.
See the article here.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
|
AFTER the saucers, cigars, spheres, pots, here is the flying barrel. It was in the Charente that it was "seen" by a motorcyclist, Mr. Jean Allary. It was "studded with golden nails" and was swinging by the side of the road.
In Annoeullin, near Lille, a worker who was smoking a cigar (a real one) in his garden, saw a luminous object in the shape of a crescent landing twenty meters from him. At his shouts, ten billiards players came running from a nearby cafe; the saucer had taken off, but a dozen "luminous dots" were moving above them.
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were spotted in Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin), Gouesnach, near Quimper, Bautignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne), Dijon, Marcoing, near Cambrai, Pommier (Indre), Rouen, Ajaccio, La Rochelle, Quimper, Cholet, Vannes, Lyon and Le Havre. A la Combe-au-Chèvres, in the Haut Jura, also, but it was just a rain gauge.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
French ufologist Aimé Michel reports that on October 3, 1954, at 08:45 p.m. in the city of Dijon, several people were in the Charles-Aubertin street when they saw a spherical object fly in the sky. It was a bit smaller than the full moon and emitted a luminous green glow. Michel indicates that the object was going towards the south at an important speed, which was faster than that of an airplane but slower than that of a meteor.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
October 3 [, 1954]
[... other cases...]
08:45 p.m.: Dijon (Côte d'Or): green lum. sph. moving South direct.
[... other cases...]
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 211 | -005.04200 | 47.32200 | 03 | 10 | 1954 | 20 | 45 | 101 | DIJON | F | 151 | C** | 208 |
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL ET JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors quote Aimé Michel while omitting the remark on speed and conclude that the case does not deserve any comment.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that on October 3, 1954 at 08:40 p.m. in Dijon in the department of Côte-d'Or, an object was observed.
[Ref. via3:] "VIMANA 21" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE - ADRUP:
This magazine listed this case:
54 10 03 08:45 NL Dijon
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3940: 1954/10/03 20:40 5 5:01:00 E 47:20:00 N 3333 WEU FRN CDO 7:A
DIJON,21,FR:SPHERE SENDS OUT GREEN BEAMS/LITE:>>S FASTER/ANY PLANE
Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 123 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the "Côte d'or" in Dijon on October 3, 1954, at 20:45 hours, several people being in the Charles Aubertin street saw a spherical object a little smaller than the full moon pass. It moved towards the south at fast pace.
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 3 October 1954 at 20:45 in Dijon, France, an "unidentified object was sighted, but with appearance and behavior that most likely would have a conventional explanation. One object was observed by numerous witnesses on a farm for over one minute (Legros)."
The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; 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); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".
[Ref. dcn1] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
Dominique Caudron indicates that the catalogue of 800 cases published in 1970 by Maurice Santos, is a good example of what one should not do; he indicates to extract from it the list of the cases of October 3, 1954; which he knows well as he had investigated into these cases of his area of Nord. For each case, below the text of the Santos catalogue, he states what should have been written, and the explanation after analysis, when there is one.
Santos wrote that for this case #539 of October 3, 1954 of "Various Form" there had been a luminous Unknown Flying Object in Dijon.
Dominique Caudron says that it was about 08:45 p.m., in Dijon, 21, and that the source is Aimé Michel who mentions a spherical object spreading a green color moving towards the south at fast pace. Dominique Caudron indicates that it was in fact a possible meteor.
He notes that the numbering of the cases by Santos seemed a good idea, but that it prevents the evolution of the catalogue, whose numbering becomes incoherent at the first update: "For example, this catalogue contains only 10 cases for the area of the Nord, whereas we know 48 of them. How to place the 38 others?"
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case three times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Dijon | France | 20.45 | NL | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Dijon | France | 20.45 | NL | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Dijon | France | 20.45 | NL |
|
Whereas I also think that it could have been a big meteor, I do not find it justified that some sources silence the mention of the speed too slow for a meteor made by Michel; this is not solid as he presents it, but who knows...
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Dijon, Côte-d'Or, multiple, city, street, object, round, spherical, green, glow, fast
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | June 5, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | June 3, 2010 | Addition [lae1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 21, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | October 14, 2016 | Addition [dcn1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 13, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | June 13, 2019 | Additions [via3], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | January 16, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | April 22, 2022 | Addition [gqy1]. |
