ALSACAT-1954-10-24-THANN-1
The regional newspaper Le Nouveau Rhin Français, in their German-speaking issue for October 27, 1954, reported that the evening before they visited Mr. C. T., 50-year-old, formerly working at the sous-préfecture of Thann, residing at the edge of the road, on the heights, in one of the last houses of the city, half-way between Thann and Leimbach, to hear what he had to tell about what the newspaper called a "miniature saucer" seen in Thann.
He precisely described to them the phenomenon he witnessed the previous Sunday, October 24, 1954.
At the end of the afternoon, Mr. T. came back from the evening mass. In his yard, he had prepared a barrel and a bucket, as he wanted to pick up grapes the next morning.
At 10:45 p.m., as he came out in his garden to get rid of a bucket of crap, he suddenly noticed in the grass at the edge of the neighbor grounds, a weird round thing, red and luminous.
Despite the fright that overcame him and paralyzed him, he only thought of observing this weird thing. The object was only at about twenty meters from him, and was in the shape of a not totally symmetrical half-sphere on which a slight cavity was noticeable. Its height was about 80 centimeters and its diameter was 1 meter. It was red and glowing like iron heated in a fire, and it spread a slight luminosity around.
Mr. T. observed this phenomenon during several minutes, and had from the start the feeling that heat waves came from it. He felt in his entire body a tickling sensation as if he was next to a strong electrical field.
As he had finally decided to approach, he felt more heat, and suddenly the thing turned off.
He went to get a flashlight in his house, and came back with someone, but there was no trace at all left from the appearance.
The newspaper added that they had no reason at all to doubt the report they heard.
| Date: | October 24, 1954 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:45 p.m. |
| Duration: | Several minutes. |
| First known report date: | October 26, 1954 |
| Reporting delay: | 2 days. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Thann |
| Place: | From home garden at the edge of town near the road, UFO posed on the grass about 20 meters away. |
| Latitude: | 47.795 |
| Longitude: | 7.113 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 200 m. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Witness(es) ages: | 50 |
| Witness(es) types: | Local man, who used to work at the sous-préfecture in Thann. |
| Reporting channel: | Witness was interviewed by journalist of the regional Press. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | Near home at the edge of town, UFO on the ground. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | No |
| UFO departure observed: | Yes |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Frightened and curious. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | CE2 |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | ? |
[Ref. nrf1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU RHIN FRANCAIS":
Thann. -- Mr. C. T. lives on the edge of the road, on the heights, one of the last houses of the city, half-way between Thann and Leimbach. Last evening we visited him and he precisely described to us the phenomenon he witnessed. Last Sunday, at the end of the afternoon, Mr. T., who is more than 50-year-old and previously worked at the Thann sous-préfecture, had returned from the evening mass. He had been preparing in the yard a barrel and a bucket, as he wanted to pick up the grapes the next morning.
At 10:45 p.m. as he gets outside in his garden to get rid of a bucket of crap, he suddenly noticed in the grass, on the edge of the neighbor's grounds, a weird round thing, red and luminous.
Despite the fright that overcomes him and paralyzes him, he only thinks of observing this weird thing. The object was at a distance of only about twenty meters, and its shape not was entirely symmetrical, like a half sphere on which one distinguished a slight cavity. Its height was something like 80 centimeters an a diameter of 1 meter. It was red and glowing like iron heated into the fire and it emitted a slight luminosity around. Mr. T., who observed the phenomenon during several minutes, had since the beginning the feeling that something like heat waves came from it and he felt in all his body a tickling sensation, as if he was next to a strong electrical charge. As Mr. T. finally decides to approach, he feels more heat, and, all of a sudden, the thing turns off. By the time to get a flashlight in the house and to come back with someone, there was no trace left at all of the appearance. Such is the story by Mr. T. that we have no reason to doubt and that we give as it is.
[Ref. cvn1:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:
Journalist Christian Valentin reports an observation in Thann, by Camille T., whom resided on the heights in the direction of Leimbach.
Camille T. came out in his garden to get rid of a bucket of trash, and then noticed, on the ground at the edge of the grass, a curious luminous round thing of red color like the color of melted iron, throwing a feeble lighting around it.
The witness was seized by fright and remains motionless several minutes, and observed that the object which is distant a score of meters from him has apparently the shape of a half sphere, not completely symmetrical, having a small cavity at its top. The dimensions are evaluated as 80 centimeters in height for one meter in diameter.
The witness feels a strong heat emanate from the object and experiences a feeling of gentle tickling as if he were near a strong electric charge.
After several minutes of immobility, overcoming his fright, Camille decides to approach the object and as he advances, the feeling of heat increases. The thing then suddenly dies out.
Camille goes to get a flashlight, but when he returns there is nothing any more to see.
[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 reports that this observation in Thann in the Haut-Rhin on October 24, 1954, was reported by Le Nouveau Rhin Français for Wednesday, October 27, 1954, in the bilingual issue; which he translated:
Thann: Mr. C. T. lives on the edge of the road, on the heights, one of the last houses of the city, half-way between Thann and Leimbach. Last evening we visited him and he precisely described to us the phenomenon he witnessed. Last Sunday, at the end of the afternoon, Mr. T., who is more than 50-year-old and previously worked at the Thann sous-préfecture, had returned from the evening mass. He had been preparing in the yard a barrel and a bucket, as he wanted to pick up the grapes the next morning.
At 10:45 p.m. as he gets outside in his garden to get rid of a bucket of crap, he suddenly noticed in the grass, on the edge of the neighbor's grounds, a weird round thing, red and luminous.
Despite the fright that overcomes him and paralyzes him, he only thinks of observing this weird thing. The object was at a distance of only about twenty meters, and its shape not was entirely symmetrical, like a half sphere on which one distinguished a slight cavity. Its height was something like 80 centimeters an a diameter of 1 meter. It was red and glowing like iron heated into the fire and it emitted a slight luminosity around. Mr. T., who observed the phenomenon during several minutes, had since the beginning the feeling that something like heat waves came from it and he felt in all his body a tickling sensation, as if he was next to a strong electrical charge. As Mr. T. finally decides to approach, he feels more heat, and, all of a sudden, the thing turns off. By the time to get a flashlight in the house and to come back with someone, there was no trace left at all of the appearance. Such is the story by Mr. T. that we have no reason to doubt and that we give as it is.
Christian Valentin comments that this is a remarkable and original phenomenon, by the short distance and the obvious interaction with the witness. He regrets that the latter did not provide a sketch and did not bring up details about the landing site.
|
Unexplained.
Unexplained.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editeur: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 5, 2005 | First published in the France 1954 catalogue. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 2, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 3.0 | Patrick Gross | February 8, 2015 | Additions [nrf1], [cvn2], Summary, Explanations. |
| 3.0 | Patrick Gross | February 8, 2015 | First published in the ALSACAT catalogue. |
