ALSACAT -> Home 

Cette page en françaisCliquez!

ALSACAT:

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.

Previous case Next case >

Case of Schirmeck, on May 6, 1967:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1967-05-06-SCHIRMECK-1

Summary:

In the ufology magazine Phénomènes Spatiaux, of the ufology group GEPA, in December 1967, ufologist Joël Mesnard reported four of his investigations, one of which was about a case that occurred on May 6, 1967 at the Champ du Feu, 1000 meters above sea level, in the Vosges, in the Bas-Rhin, in Alsace, France.

Joël Mesnard explained that the families of the firefighters of the city of Strasbourg have a chalet available to them. The place was (at that time) almost deserted, but there was nevertheless a radar station there, operating in conjunction with the many military airfields in the region.

On Saturday May 6, 1967, Mr. Raymond Schirrmann, Mrs. Schirrmann, their son Jean-Luc, 10, and his friend Philippe Wassmer, 11, came to spend the weekend at this chalet.

At 7 p.m., the four had finished dinner and went to the terrace, from where they could admire the sunset, which was particularly beautiful that evening, with a very clear sky without any clouds. From the terrace, one could make out, beyond the Bruche valley, the Donon forest.

Suddenly, a row of 7 or 8 well-aligned and equidistant objects appeared to them to the west-northwest, at a distance of the order of 2 km. Each object consisted of a dark part surrounded by a halo, "like a smoke ring". These objects seem to be a few tens of meters above the forest and, the terrain being sloping in the direction of observation, their altitude appeared to be the same as that of the witnesses.

During the minutes following their appearance, these objects slowly slid to the south, towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly, they disappeared on the post, to then reappeared a little further south, dispersed, and, simultaneously, all ceased to be visible.

To the west, where the objects had disappeared, the forest seemed all red, as if on fire, although the sun had set. Dozens of red spots hovered gently above the forest. Mr. Schirrmann observed them through binoculars. The spots, quivering, had shapes that evoked "tomatoes" or "boxing gloves."

It was then past 8 p.m., night was falling, and those red spots went out.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the four witnesses saw appearing, about a hundred meters from the chalet, coming from the south, an enormous black object - or appearing black, since night had fallen - in the shape of a lens of 15 to 20 meters in diameter. In total silence, this "saucer" slowly approached the chalet. It was horizontal and floated a little higher than the witnesses who could only make out the underside.

The saucer arrived within 20 or 30 meters of the chalet, and suddenly, a kind of yellowish-white luminous ribbon appeared under the object. The ribbon seemed to end in a bulge and was animated by a movement that evoked, for Mr. Schirrmann, that of a snake and, for Jean-Luc, that of an octopus's tentacle. After about ten seconds, this "snake" disappeared or went out.

Mrs. Schirrmann left the terrace to go to the kitchen facing south-west, therefore towards the saucer, turned on the light there and opened the window with the intention of closing the shutters, probably prompted by an instinct to put some obstacle between the object and the witnesses. Yet, like her husband and the kids, she was not panicking.

Suddenly a thin luminous rod sprang up under the saucer; Mrs. Schirrmann cried out and called for her husband, who joined her at the kitchen window, followed by the children.

The saucer was there, motionless, a few meters from the chalet and at the height of the roof. The people of Strasbourg had a shiver when a click or a slight snap sounded. Two luminous rods joined the first, running parallel to it, but, while the first was bluish-white, the other two were purple-green. Their sections were different: the first rod was the size of a thumb, 2.5 to 3 cm, the other two were thinner, "like the little finger" (1.5 cm). These "rods" ended about 1 m above the ground. All three seemed to be located in the same plane, not vertical, and were distant from each other by a few tens of centimeters. The witnesses had insisted on the very compact aspect of the luminous rods.

The ends of these stems were, according to Mr. Schirrmann, were cut clean, "like a sausage". (As it is believed that it is impossible for a light beam to suddenly end like that in the absence of an obstacle, one would speak about this case and other, of cases of "truncated light beams").

Another curious luminous phenomenon was that on the roof a white strip of light took the shape of three sides of a trapezoid, in a strip as wide as the hand, i.e. about ten centimeters.

The three luminous rods pointed towards the interior of this trapezium, the two non-parallel sides of which ended at the foot of the wall of the chalet; the strip of light may have extended up the wall, but the witnesses did not lean out to observe the wall.

The observation of the rods and this trapeze only lasted about ten or fifteen seconds, and then everything suddenly went out, with a sharp "snapping" sound.

Mr. Schirrmann then said, "I don't like it, let's go home!"; he closed the window. Then driven by curiosity, he returned to the terrace and saw the object sliding slowly in a northerly direction, away from the house. The witnesses were then able to distinguish a greenish luminous cone on its upper face.

Suddenly the object disappeared on the spot, still without noise, while it was a hundred meters from the chalet.

The four witnesses, who had felt more curiosity than fear, simply went to bed; it was then a little more than 10 p.m.

Around 3 a.m., little Jean-Luc went to find his parents, saying: "Mom, I'm scared, I'm very scared..." then he went back to bed.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann told their eventful evening to their few neighbors. The inhabitants of a chalet located a few dozen meters from theirs replied that, having spent the evening playing cards, they saw nothing abnormal; they viewed their neighbors' account with more than skepticism.

On the other hand, Mrs. Zimmermann, who runs a small inn a few hundred meters away, open in the summer, said that whereas she did not notice anything, her dog had howled for a good part of the night.

That same Sunday, May 7, 1967, the Schirrmanns thought they noticed intense activity above the Champ du Feu, by jet fighter planes of the Strasbourg-Entzheim base.

On Monday, May 8, 1967, the witnesses learned from the local newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg and by a radio station, that the Champ du Feu radar station had detected on Saturday, May 6, 1967, between 8 and 10 p.m., an unidentified flying object.

Two weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann, still accompanied by Jean-Luc and Philippe Wasser, returned to spend another weekend at the Champ du Feu. On the afternoon of Sunday, May 21, 1967, they took a walk at Mont National, accompanied by three friends: Mr. Winterhalter, assistant police officer, Mrs. Winterhalter and their 12-year-old daughter Dominique. Jean-Luc noticed that over a fairly large area all the fir trees had their tops broken. As no recent storms had occurred, Mr. Schirrmann could not find an explanation for this fact and imagined that it could have been related to their observation of May 6, 1967.

Mr. and Mrs. Winterhalter had shown reluctance to believe their account of the events near the chalet. But around 4 p.m., it was Mr. Winterhalter who saw at a few kilometers away, above the Champ du Feu, a row of 7 or 8 objects surrounded by halos which were advancing slowly above the forest. The objects remained visible for a long time. Mr. Winterhalter then considered with much more interest the story of his friends.

Thereafter, nothing more was learned; the case would simply be taken up in an increasingly summarized manner over time in various ufological publications.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: May 6, 1967
Time: 07:00 p.m.
Duration: 3 hours.
First known report date: December 1967
Reporting delay: 7 months.

Geographical data:

Department: Bas-Rhin
City: Schirmeck
Place: Firemen's chalet at Le Champ du Feu.
Latitude: 48.407
Longitude: 7.259
Uncertainty radius: 500 m.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 4
Number of known witnesses: ?
Number of named witnesses: 4
Witness(es) ages: 2 adults, 2 children.
Witness(es) types: Fireman, his wife, their child and another child.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Ufology investigation by Joël Mesnard.
Type of location: From a chalet in the mountains with meadow and forest.
Visibility conditions: Evening and night.
UFO observed: Yes.
UFO arrival observed: Yes.
UFO departure observed: Yes.
Entities: No.
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): ?
Witness(es) feelings: Puzzled, worried..
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: DD and CE1.
ALSACAT: Possible extraterrestrial visitors.

Sources:

[Ref. psx1:] "PHENOMENE SPATIAUX" - GEPA:

Scan.

FOUR INVESTIGATIONS

By Joël Mesnard

Evening full of emotions
at the Champ du Feu

The families of the firefighters of the city of Strasbourg have at their disposal a chalet at a place called "Le champ du Feu" ("Das Hochfeld"), 9 km south-south-east of Schirmeck, in the Vosges, at an altitude of 1000 m. Whereas the place is almost deserted, there is nevertheless a radar station that works in conjunction with the many military airfields in the region.

On Saturday May 6, 1967, Mr. Raymond Schirrmann, Mrs. Schirrmann, their son Jean-Luc (10 years old) and his friend Philippe Wassmer (11 years old) came to spend the weekend at the Champ du Feu. It is 7 p.m. The four occupants of the chalet have finished dinner and go to the terrace, from where they can admire the sunset, which was particularly beautiful that evening. The sky is very pure, devoid of any cloud. From the terrace, you can make out the Donon forest beyond the Bruche valley.

Suddenly, a row of seven or eight well-aligned and equidistant objects appears to the west-northwest, at a distance of the order of 2 km. Each object consists of a dark part surrounded by a halo, "like a smoke ring".

The objects seem to be a few tens of meters above the wood and, since the terrain is sloping in the direction of observation, their altitude is about the same as that of the witnesses.

During the minutes following their appearance, the objects slowly slide to the south, towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly, they disappear in place, then reappear a little further south, disperse, and simultaneously all cease to be visible.

To the west, where the objects have disappeared, the forest is all red, as if on fire, although the sun has set. Dozens of red spots hover gently above the forest. Mr. Schirrmann observes them through binoculars. The quivering spots take on shapes reminiscent of tomatoes or boxing gloves.

It's past eight o'clock. Night is falling. The red spots disappear in turn.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the four witnesses see appearing, about a hundred meters from the chalet, coming from the south, a huge black object - or appearing black: let's not forget that night has fallen - in the shape of a a lens 15 to 20 m in diameter. In total silence, the saucer slowly approaches the chalet. It is horizontal and stands a little higher than the witnesses who can only distinguish the lower face.

The saucer is now only 20 or 30 meters from the chalet.

Suddenly, a kind of yellowish-white luminous ribbon appears under the object. It seems to end in a bulge and is animated by a movement which evokes, for Mr. Schirrmann, that of a snake and, for Jean-Luc, that of an octopus tentacle. After about ten seconds, this "snake" disappears or goes out.

Mrs. Schirrmann leaves the terrace to go to the kitchen (facing south-west, therefore towards the saucer), switches on the light there and opens the window with the intention of closing the shutters, probably pushed by a instinctive desire to put some obstacle between the object and the witnesses. However, no more than her husband or the children, she is seized with panic.

Suddenly a thin luminous rod shoots out from under the saucer. Mrs. Schirrmann cries out and calls her husband, who joins her at the kitchen window, followed by the children.

The saucer is there, motionless, a few meters from the chalet and at the height of the roof. A shiver runs through the people of Strasbourg when a click or a slight snapping sound is heard. Two luminous rods joined the first. They are parallel to it, but while the first is bluish white, the other two are green-mauve. Their sections are also different: the first stem is as thick as the thumb (2.5 to 3 cm), the other two are thinner, "like the little finger" (1.5 cm'). These rods end about 1 m from the ground. All three seem to be located in the same plane, not vertical, and are distant from each other by a few tens of centimeters.

The ends of the rods are, according to Mr. Schirrmann, cut clean, "like a sausage". In the hypothesis formulated by Mr. Jean Goupil in paragraph 6 of his study published in #12 of "Phénomènes Spatiaaux", hypothesis according to which luminescence would be the consequence of the "channeling" of a magnetic field, a terminal section strictly cylindrical of

- 13 -

Scan.

these rods suggested a discontinuity in the density of the field lines of force, which is hardly conceivable.

One can imagine that the extremities of the luminous rods are not strictly cylindrical, but that the field spreads out there very quickly (fig. 1).

Still, the witnesses insist on the very compact aspect of the luminous rods.

Another curious luminous phenomenon is worth noting: on the roof, a white luminous strip follows the shape of three sides of a trapezium. This strip is as wide as a hand, about ten centimeters (Cover figure).

The three light rods point inwards from the trapezium, the two non-parallel sides of which end at the foot of the chalet wall. Perhaps the strip of light continued on the wall, perhaps it closed in on itself? The witnesses did not lean out to observe the wall.

The observation of these luminous phenomena (stems and trapeze) only lasts about ten or fifteen seconds and everything disappears, or goes out, suddenly, with a sharp snapping sound.

If, thinking of the apparent compactness of these rods, we attribute to them a material nature, or even if we assume that they are located in a strong vacuum, we can conceive that their sudden appearance or disappearance can give birth to a shock wave likely to produce a snapping sound.

Let's get back to the actual observation. Mr. Schirrmann says, "I don't like it, let's go inside!" and closes the window then driven by curiosity, returns to the terrace. The object slowly glides north, away from the house. The witnesses can then distinguish, on its upper face, a greenish luminous cone. Mr. Schirrmann describes the shape of the saucer as depicted in the cover figure.

Suddenly the object disappears on the spot, still silently even though it was a hundred meters from the chalet.

The four witnesses, who have experienced more curiosity than dread, simply go to bed. It's a little past 10 p.m.

Around 3 a.m., young Jean-Luc will come to find his parents, saying: "Mom, I'm scared, I'm very scared..." and then goes back to bed.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann tell their few neighbors about their eventful evening. The inhabitants of a chalet located a few dozen meters from that of the fire brigade respond that having spent the evening playing cards they saw nothing abnormal and consider the story of their neighbors with more than skepticism.

On the other hand, Mrs. Zimmermann, who runs a small inn a few hundred meters away, open in the summer, will say that, if she herself did not notice anything, her dog, on the other hand, howled for a good part of the night.

That same Sunday, May 7, the Schirrmanns believe they noted intense activity, above the Champ du Feu, by planes from the Strasbourg-Entzheim base. This base mainly houses the Mirage III R of the 33rd reconnaissance wing, aircraft capable of flying at Mach 2.

On Monday May 8, the witnesses learned, from the local daily "Les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg" and by radio, that the Champ du Feu radar station detected, on Saturday May 6, between 8 and 10 p.m., an unidentified flying object.

Two weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann, still accompanied by Jean-Luc and Philippe Wasser, return to spend a weekend at the Champ du Feu. On the afternoon of Sunday, May 21, they set off for a walk at Mont National, accompanied by three friends: Mr. Winterhalter, assistant police officer, Mrs. Winterhalter and their 12-year-old daughter Dominique. Jean-Luc notices that, over a fairly large area, all the fir trees have their tops broken. No storm having occurred recently, Mr. Schirrmann cannot find an explanation for this fact and imagines that it may be closer to the observation of May 6.

Mr. and Mrs. Winterhalter show some reluctance to believe their friends' accounts of events near the chalet.

Around 4 p.m., Mr. Winterhalter sees, a few kilometers away, above the Champ du Feu, a surprising phenomenon: a row of 7 or 8 objects surrounded by halos are advancing slowly above the forest. The objects

- 19 -

Scan.

remain visible for a long time. This time, there are no longer four witnesses, but seven. Mr. Winterhalter begins to consider with much more interest the account of his friends.

[Ref. psx2:] "PHENOMENE SPATIAUX" - GEPA:

[... other cases ...]

The Champ du Feu is 9 km south-southeast of Schirmeck, in the Vosges. This is where on May 6, 1967, Raymond Schirrmann, his wife, his son and a fellow of the latter ("Phénomènes Spatiaux", #14, pp. 18-20) saw successively a huge gush from dark and lenticular object hovering in air at 20 or 30 m of them, three "rods" of light that did not reach the ground, a phenomenon illustrated by the cover design by the pen of Joel Mesnard.

[... other cases ...]

The article has this sketch for the sighting, made by ufologist Joël Mesnard:

Scan.

[Ref. ufr1:] "THE UFO REGISTER":

Scan.

As noted previously, 1969 saw a general increase in the number of occasions on which more than one ufo was observed simultaneously. The dates, localities, and ufo types involved -- of which the most frequently sighted were type 8e and 46 -- are listed below.

Date. Locality/ies. Ufo type/s. No:seen. Category.
6.5.69 Le Champ du Feu. ?5a 3 A

[Ref. fsr1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "FLYING SAUCER REVIEW":

Scan.

Case I: May 6, 1967. Hochfelden, near Strasbourg, France. From a strange object a sort of luminous cylindrical beam was projected towards the ground. It vanished suddenly. Then a second and similar beam appeared, and then two more, all of them parallel. The three beams all terminated abruptly at a height of 3ft. from the ground. 7

{The most notable differences between this and the Trancas case lie in the thickness of the "tubes" of light and in their instantaneous disappearance. At Hochfelden the diameter of the first beam was the thickness of the thumb, and of the subsequent beams it was thr thickness of a little finger.)

The source "7" is detailed as "Mesnard J., Quatre Enquêtes. See PHENOMENES SPATIAUX, France, No. 14 (December 1967), p. 18."

Note: Hochfelden is indeed a municipality in the Bas-Rhin, but unrelated to "le Champ du Feu" aka "Hochfeld".

[Ref. hdt1:] HENRI DURRANT:

Now here is how Mr. Joel Mesnard, GEPA investigator, described the incident of Champ du Feu:

An evening rich in emotion at the Champ du Feu

The families of Strasbourg City firefighters have at their disposal a cottage in a place called "Le Champ du Feu" ("Das Hochfeld"), 9 km south-southeast of Schirmeck, in the Vosges at 1000 m altitude. Whereas the place is almost deserted, there is nevertheless a radar station that works in conjunction with the many military airfields in the region.

On Saturday, May 6, 1967, Raymond Schirrmann, Ms. Schirrmann, and their son Jean-Luc (10-year-old) and his friend Philippe Wassmer (11-year-old) came to spend the weekend at the Champ du Feu. It is 7 p.m. The four occupants of the cottage finished dining and go to the terrace, where they can watch the sunset, especially beautiful that night. The sky is very pure, empty of cloud. From the terrace, there is, beyond the Bruche Valley, the forest of Donon.

Suddenly a row of seven or eight equally spaced and aligned objects appear to the west-northwest at a distance of about 2 km. Each object consists of a dark part surrounded by a dark halo, "as a smoke ring."

The objects seem to be a few tens of meters above the wood and as the ground is sloping in the direction of observation, their altitude is roughly the same as the witnesses.

In the minutes of their appearance, the objects glide slowly to the south towards the hamlet of Belle Fosse. Suddenly, they disappear there, and then reappear a little further south, disperse, and simultaneously all cease to be visible.

In the west, where the objects had disappeared, the forest is all red, like burning, although the sun is set. Dozens of red spots gently oscillate over the forest. Mr. Schirrmann observes with binoculars. Stains, flickering have forms that evoke tomatoes or boxing gloves.

It is past 20 hours. Night is falling. The red spots disappear too.

Shortly after 21 hours, the four witnesses see appear at a hundred meters from the chalet, from the south, a huge black object appearing black, do not forget that night has fallen - in the shape of a lens 15-20 m in diameter.

In total silence, the saucer slowly approaching the cottage. It is horizontal and stands a little higher than the witnesse who distinguish only its underside.

The saucer is just 20 or 30 meters from the chalet.

Suddenly, a kind of yellowish white luminous ribbon appears under the object. It seems terminated by a bulge and is animated by a movement that makes Mr. Schirrmann think of that of a snake and, for Jean-Luc, that of an octopus tentacle.

After about ten seconds, the "snake" disappears or goes out. Ms. Schirrmann leaves the terrace to get in the kitchen (oriented to the southwest, thus towards the saucer), turns on the light and opens the window with the intention to close the shutters, driven, no doubt, by an instinctive desire put some obstacle between the object and the witnesses. Yet, just like her husband and children, she is seized with panic.

Suddenly a thin shaft of light springs from under the saucer. Ms. Schirrmann screams and calls her husband, who joins her at the kitchen window, followed by the children.

The saucer is there, motionless, a few meters from the chalet and at the height of the roof. A shiver runs through the Strasbourg residents when a click or a slight snapping sound is heard. Two luminous rods join to the first. They are parallel, but while the former is bluish-white, the two others are green-purple. Their sections are also different: the first rod is large like a thumb (2.5 to 3 cm), the other two are thinner, "like the little finger" (1.5 cm). The rods terminate at about 1 m above the ground. All three appear to lie in the same plane, non-vertical, and are separated, one from another, of a few tens of centimeters.

The ends of the stems are, according to Mr. Schirrmann, cut short, "like a sausage" (...). "

Another curious luminous phenomenon is noteworthy: on the ground, a white light strip matches the shape of three sides of a trapezoid. This strip is as wide as the hand, ten centimeters.

The three bright stems point towards the interior of the trapezoid whose two non-parallel sides lead to the wall of the cottage. Perhaps the luminous strip continues on the wall, perhaps it closed in on itself? The witnesses did not look outside to see the wall.

The observation of these luminous phenomena (stems and trapeze) lasts only ten or fifteen seconds and everything disappears or goes out suddenly in a sharp cracking noise.

If, thinking of the apparent compactness of these rods, they are assigned a material nature, or if it is assumed that they are located in a strong vacuum, it is understandable that their appearance or their sudden disappearance can created a shock wave likely to produce a clicking sound.

Returning to the actual observation. Mr. Schirrmann said: "I do not like this, let's go!" and closes the window and driven by curiosity, returns on the terrace. The object is slowly gliding towards the north, away from the house. The witnesses can then distinguish a greenish light cone on its upper side (...).

Suddenly the object disappears on the spot, again silently while it was a hundred meters from the chalet.

The four witnesses who felt more curious than frightened, just go to bed. It is a little more than 10 p.m..

Around 3 am, the young Jean-Luc goes to his parents, saying. "Mom, I'm afraid, I'm very scared..." then goes back to bed.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann tell their eventful evening to their few neighbors. The inhabitants of a cottage located a few dozen meters from the firefighters respond that having spent the evening playing cards they saw nothing abnormal and they consider the story of their neighbors with more than skepticism.

On the contrary, Ms. Zimmermann, who manages a small inn opened the summer a few hundred meters away, would say that while she personnaly did not notice anything, her dog, however, yelled for a good part of the night.

That same Sunday, May 7, the Schirrmann believe they noted an intense activity above Champ du Feu, of planes of the Strasbourg-Entzheim air base. This base mainly hosts Mirage III R of the 33rd reconnaissance squadron capable of flying at Mach 2.

On Monday, May 8, the witnesses learn by the local daily newspaper Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg and by the radio, that the radar station of the Champ du Feu detected on Saturday, May 6th, between 8 and 10 p.m., an unidentified flying object.

Two weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann, again accompanied by Jean-Luc and Philippe Wasser, returned to spend a weekend at the Champ du Feu. In the afternoon of Sunday, May 21, they go for a walk to Mont National, accompanied by three friends: Mr. Winterhalter, deputy police officer, Mrs. Winterhalter and their daughter Dominique, aged 12. Jean-Luc noticed that over a relatively large area all pine trees have their tops broken. No storm took place recently, so Mr. Schirrmann did not find an explanation for this and imagined it could be related to the observation of May 6.

M. and Mrs. Winterhalter show some reluctance to believe the story made by their friends, of the events near the cottage.

Around 4 p.m., Mr. Winterhalter sees, a few kilometers away, above the Champ du Feu, a surprising phenomenon: a row of 7 or 8 objects surrounded by halos slowly advancing over the forest. The objects remain visible for a long time. This time, there are not four witnesses, but seven, and Mr. Winterhalter begins to consider with more interest the story of his friends.

Commentary by R. Fouéré

(...) The list of the puzzling luminous or pseudo-luminous manifestations unusual craft are capable of continues to grow. We saw in Trancas a "light" that seemed strong and going through walls, illuminating the windowless rooms. In Australia, the headlights of a car were inexplicably diverted. Here, we are faced with luminous "beams", of solid appearance, cut short, like cut with a knife, before reaching the ground on which nonetheless an extension of the interrupted beams is seen, straight light strips.

Some will be tempted to say that this is an invention of the witnesses. Not only nothing in their attitude seems to give substance to such suspicion, but it is hard to understand why a man practicing the profession of Mr. Schirrmann, and belonging to the social environment he is in, could invent such a story and introduce such complicated details, details that seemed to make it even more unlikely. It is a safe bet, secondly, that the witness knew nothing about "jellyfish saucers" and their stalks, stalks that, though, might seem closely related to the interrupted beams described by the witnesses.

Note

The witnesses of the Champ du Feu saw emerge under a saucer a kind of yellowish white light strip, "ended with a bulge and with movements that made it resemble a "octopus tentacle or a snake." Later, they saw "rods" of light that stop short before touching the ground. But in Hawaii, 4/21/67, a witness observed an object "having the greenish appearance of a "coiled serpent" hanging from a "huge gray cloud" (APRO Bulletin, 5/16/67, p. 8) and in Vienne in West Virginia, 04.12.67, other witnesses saw a luminous object spring from "a brilliant cone of light, directed downwards, but did not touch the ground" (same bulletin, p. 11). We cannot, however, think that Mr. Schirrmann heard of American observations, especially as the newsletter that chronicles them had not yet arrived in France at the date of the observation at the Champ du Feu (05.06.67).

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

And thus on May 6, 1967, at the "champ du Feu", a desert plate of the Vosges, four Strasbourg residents followed the low-level maneuvers of a craft from where the three luminous "rods" came out, that stopped before reaching the ground.

[Ref. his1:] RENE FOUERE - "HISTORIA":

Scan.

the "champ du feu."

The strange tapered light, sharp and "opaque" at its base, which so obviously surprised and intrigued the Danish policeman, suddenly brought us back to Villiers-en-Morvan, which was the site of one of our investigations, then to the "champ du feu."

The "champ du feu" is located 9 km south-southeast of Schirmeck, in the Vosges. It was there that on May 6, 1967, Mr. Raymond Schirrmann, his wife, his son and a friend of the latter ("Phénomènes" No. 14) saw a huge dark lenticular object spring up successively, stationed in the air 20 or 30 m from them, three luminous "stems" that did not reached the ground.

Scan.

It is hard to believe that at Schirmeck in May 1967, at Villiers-en-Morvan in August 1968 and near Hadersley in August 1970, witnesses who were unaware of each other would have agreed to describe a phenomenon so unusual and corresponding to nothing known. How to speak here of collective hallucination with such gaps in time and place? Or how to think that such diverse people have invented, each for his own account, the same fable or, at the very least, invented fables linked by this unusual common feature: the appearance of a beam of truncated light? We have the feeling that, in these three cases, which confirm each other and so singularly, we were dealing with an objective phenomenon.

The phenomenon of truncated light beams is, for human experience and for scientific thought, one of the most enigmatic, the most provocative that exists, and it is difficult to understand that one Edward U. Condon could have said that there was nothing in the reports about U.F.O. that justified the pursuit of scientific research!

[Ref. rjn1:] R. JACK PERRIN:

EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL U.F.O. LUMINOUS PHENOMENA

Evening full of emotions at the Champ du Feu

The families of Strasbourg City firefighters have at their disposal a cottage in the locality "le Champ du Feu" ("Das Hochfeld") at 9 km south-southeast of Schirmeck, in the Vosges, at 1000 meters of altitude. Whereas the place is almost empty, there is a radar station there that works in permanent liaison with the many military airfields in the region.

On Saturday, May 6, 1967, Mr. Raymond Schirrmann, Ms. Schirrmann, their son Jean-Luc (10 years old) and his friend Philippe Wassmer (eleven years old) came to spend the weekend at the Champ du Feu. At 7 p.m., the four occupants of the cottage had finished dinner and go to the terrace, from where they can admire the sunset, especially beautiful that night. The sky is very pure, empty of cloud. From the terrace, there are looking, beyond the Bruche valley, at the forest of the Donon.

All of a sudden, a row of seven or eight objects aligned and equidistant appears on the west-north-west, at a distance of about 2 km. Each object consists of a dark part surrounded by a halo, "like a smoke ring."

The objects appear to be at a few tens of meters above the wood and the ground sloping in the direction of observation, the objects slide slowly towards the south, towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly, they disappear there, then reappear a little further south, disperse and, simultaneously, all cease to be visible.

To the west, where the objects had disappeared, the forest is all red, like on fire, although the sun goes down. Dozens of red spots gently oscillate above the forest. Mr. Schirrmann observes with binoculars. Stains, flickering, have shapes that evoke tomatoes or boxing gloves.

It is 8 p.m.. Night is falling. The red spots also disappear.

Shortly after 9 pm, the four witnesses see appearing at a hundred meters from the chalet, from the south, a huge black object - or looking black: do not forget that night has fallen - in the shape of a lens, 15 to 20 meters in diameter. In total silence, the saucer slowly approaches the cottage. It is horizontal and stands a little higher than the witness who distinguish only its underside.

The saucer is only 20 or 30 meters from the chalet.

Suddenly a kind of yellowish-white luminous ribbon appears under the object. It seems finished with a bulge and is animated by a movement that to Mr. Schirrmann is that of a snake and to Jean-Claude, that of an octopus tentacle. After ten seconds, the "snake" disappears or goes out.

Ms. Schirrmann leaves the terrace to get in the kitchen (facing the southeast, thus towards the saucer), she turns on the light and opens the window with the intention to close the shutters, probably by an instinctive desire to put some obstacle between the object and the witnesses. But just like her husband and children, she is seized by panic.

Suddenly, a thin luminous rod springs from under the saucer. Ms. Schirrmann screams and calls her husband who joins the kitchen window, followed by the children.

The saucer is there, motionless, a few meters from the chalet and at roof height. A shiver runs the Strasbourg residents when a click or a slight clacking sound is head. Two luminous rods join the first. They are parallel, but while the first is a bluish-white, the two others are green-purple. Their section is also different: the first rod is large like a thumb (2.5 cm 3), the two other rods are thinner, "like the little finger" (1.5 cm). These rods end at about 1 m above the ground. All three appear to lie in the same plane, non-vertical, and are spaced, one from another, by a few tens of centimeters.

The ends of the rods are, according to Mr. Schirrmann, cut short, "like a sausage." In the hypothesis formulated by Jean Goupil in paragraph 6 of the study published in Phénomènes Spatiaux #12, the assumption that the luminescence of the stems would be the consequence of the "pipeline" of a magnetic field, the strictly cylindrical end section of these rods would suggest a discontinuity in the density of the lines of the field of force, which is hardly conceivable.

One can imagine that the ends of the luminous rods are not strictly cylindrical, and that the field spread very quickly there.

Still, the witnesses emphasize the compact appearance of the luminous rods.

Another curious phenomenon is noteworthy: on the ground, a white light strip in the shape of three sides of a trapezoid. This strip is as wide as the hand, that is, about ten centimeters.

The three luminous stems point to the inside of the trapezoid with two non-parallel sides leading to the wall of the cottage. Perhaps the luminous strip continued on the wall, perhaps it closed in on itself? The witnesses did not lean outside to watch the wall.

The observation of these luminous phenomena (rods and trapezoid) lasts only ten or fifteen seconds and everything disappears or goes out suddenly in a sharp cracking sound.

If thinking at the apparent compactness of these rods, they are assigned a material nature, or if one assume they are located in a strong vacuum, it is understandable that their appearance or sudden disappearance can create a shock wave likely to produce a snapping sound.

Returning to the observation itself. Mr. Schirrmann said: "I do not like this, let's go!" and closes the window and then, out of curiosity, returns on the terrace. The object is slowly gliding towards the north, away from the house. The witnesses can then distinguish on its upper side, a greenish light cone.

Suddenly, the object disappears on the spot, silently again, while it was a hundred meters of the chalet.

The four witnesses, who have had more curiosity than fear, just go to bed. It is a little over 10 p.m..

Around 3 am, young Jean-Luc goes to his parents saying, "Mommy, I'm scared, I'm scared..." and then return to bed.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann tell their eventful evening to their few neighbors. The inhabitants of a cottage located a few tens of meters from the firefighters having spent the evening playing cards, saw nothing unusual and consider the story of their neighbors with more than skepticism.

That same Sunday, May 7, the Schirrmann believe they noted an intense activity over the Champ du Feu, by aircraft of the Strasbourg-Entzheim base. This base mainly houses Mirage III R of the 33rd reconnaissance squadron, aircraft capable of flying at Mach 2.

On Monday, May 8, the witnesses learn, by the local daily newspaper LEs Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace and the radio, that the radar station at the Champ du Feu had detected on Saturday, May 6, between 8 and 10 p.m., an unidentified flying object.

Two weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann, again accompanied by Jean-Luc and Philippe Wassmer, went back for a weekend at the Champ du Feu. In the afternoon of Sunday, May 21, they go for a walk to Mont National, accompanied by three friends: Mr. Winterhalter, deputy police officer, Mrs. Winterhalter and their daughter Dominique, twelve years old. Jean-Luc noticed that over a relatively large area, all pine trees have their tops broken. No storm having occurred recently, Mr. Schirrmann does not find an explanation for this and imagines it is related to the observation of May 6.

Mr. and Mrs. Winterhalter show some reluctance to believe the story that their friends tell them about the events near the cottage.

Around 4 p.m., Mr. Winterhalter sees, a few kilometers away, above the Champ du Feu, a surprising phenomenon: a row of 7 or 8 objects surrounded by halos slowly moving over the forest. The objects remain visible for a long time. This time, there are not just four witnesses but seven. Mr. Winterhalter begins to consider with more interest the story of his friends.

[Ref. clu1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "CHRONIQUES DE LA C.L.E.U.":

Scan.

The families of the firefighters of the city of Strasbourg have at their disposal a chalet at a place called "Le Champ du Feu" ("Das Hochfeld") 9 km south-south-east of Schirmeck, in the Vosges, at an altitude of 1000 m. Whereas the place is almost deserted, there is nevertheless a radar station which works in permanent contact with the many military airfields in the region.

On Saturday, May 6, 1967, Mr. Raymond Schirrmann, Mrs. Schirrmann, their son Jean-Luc (ten years old) and his friend Philippe Wassmer (eleven years old) came to spend the weekend at the Champ du Feu. It is 7 p.m. The four occupants of the chalet finish the dinner and go to the terrace, from where they can admire the sunset, which was particularly beautiful that evening. The sky is very pure, devoid of any cloud. From the terrace, you can make out the Donon forest beyond the Bruche valley.

Suddenly, a row of seven or eight well-aligned and equidistant objects appears to the west-northwest, at a distance of the order of 2 km. Each object consists of a dark part surrounded by a halo, "like a smoke ring".

The objects seem to be a few tens of meters above the wood and, the terrain being sloping in the direction of observation, their altitude is about the same as that of the witnesses.

During the minutes following their appearance, the objects slowly slide south, towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly, they disappear in place, then reappear a little further south, disperse and, simultaneously, all cease to be visible.

To the west, where the objects have disappeared, the forest is all red, as if on fire, although the sun has set; dozens of red spots gently oscillate above the forest. Mr. Schirrmann observes them through binoculars. The flickering stains have shapes reminiscent of tomatoes or boxing gloves.

It's past eight o'clock. Night falls. The red spots disappear in turn.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the four witnesses see appearing, about a hundred meters from the chalet, coming from the south, a huge black object - or appearing black: let's not forget that night has fallen - in the shape of a a lens 15 to 20 meters in diameter. In total silence, the saucer slowly approaches the chalet. It is horizontal and stands a little higher than the witnesses who can only distinguish the inner face.

The saucer is now only 20 or 30 meters from the chalet. Suddenly, a kind of yellowish-white luminous ribbon appears under the object. It seems to end with a hum and is animated by a movement which evokes, for Mr. Schirrmann, that of a snake and for Jean-Luc, that of an octopus's tentacle. After about ten seconds, this snake disappears or goes out. Mrs. Schirrmann leaves the terrace to go to the kitchen (facing south-west, therefore towards the saucer), switches on the light there and opens the window with the intention of closing the shutters, prompted, no doubt, by an instinctive desire to put some obstacle between the object and the witnesses. However, no more than her husband or the children, is she seized with panic.

Suddenly, a thin luminous rod sprang under the saucer. Mme Schirrmann cries out and calls her husband, who joins her at the kitchen window, followed by the children. The saucer is there, motionless, a few meters from the chalet and at the height of the roof. A shiver runs through the people of Strasbourg when a click or a slight snap is heard. Two light rods joined the first. They are parallel to it, but while the first is bluish white, the other two are mauve green. Their sections, too, are different: the first stem is as big as

Scan.

the thumb (2.5 to 3 cm), the other two stems are thinner, "like the little finger" (1.5 cm). These rods end about 1 m from the ground. All three seem to be located in the same plane, not vertical, and are distant from each other by a few tens of centimeters. The ends of the stems are, according to Mr. Schirrmann, cut clean, "like a sausage". In the hypothesis formulated by M. Jean Goupil in paragraph 6 of his study published in No. 12 of Phénomènes Spatiaux, the hypothesis according to which the luminescence of the rods would be the consequence of the "channeling" of a magnetic field, a section strictly cylindrical ending these rods would suggest a discontinuity in the density of the lines of force of the field, which is hardly conceivable.

One can imagine that the extremities of the luminous rods are not strictly cylindrical, but that the field spreads out there very quickly. Still, the witnesses insist on the very compact appearance of the light rods. Another luminous phenomenon is worth noting: on the ground, a white luminous band follows the shape of three sides of a trapezium. This strip is as wide as a hand, about ten centimeters. The three luminous rods point towards the inside of the trapezium, the two non-parallel sides of which end at the foot of the chalet wall. Perhaps the strip of light was prolonged on the wall, perhaps it closed in on itself? The witnesses did not lean out to observe the wall. The observation of these luminous phenomena (stems and trapezoids) only lasts about ten to fifteen seconds, and everything disappears, or goes out, suddenly, with a snapping sound.

If, thinking of the apparent compactness of its stems, we attribute to them a material nature, or even if we assume that they are located in a strong vacuum, we can conceive that their appearance or sudden disappearance can give rise to a shock wave likely to produce a snapping sound.

Let's get back to the actual observation. Mr. Schirrmann says, "I don't like it, let's go home!" and closes the window, then, prompted by curiosity, returns to the terrace. The object slowly glides north, away from the house. The witnesses can then distinguish on its upper face, a greenish luminous cone. Suddenly, the object disappears on the spot, still without noise, whereas it was a hundred meters from the chalet. The four witnesses, who have experienced more curiosity than fear, simply go to bed. It's a little after 10 p.m. Around 3 a.m., little Jean-Luc will come to find his parents, saying: "Mom, I'm scared, I'm very scared...", then goes back to bed.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann tell their few neighbors about their eventful evening. The residents of a chalet located a few tens of meters from that dessacozr oinouers r9oibdebt qz'hvng [sic] broke the evening playing cards, they saw nothing abnormal and consider the story of their neighbors with more than skepticism.

That same Sunday, May 7, the Schirrmanns believe they noted intense activity above the Champ de Feu [sic], airplanes from the Strasbourg-Entzei [sic, Entzheim] base. This base mainly houses the Mirage III R of the 33rd reconnaissance squadron, aircraft capable of flying at Mach 2. On Monday May 8, the witnesses learned, from the local daily newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg and by radio that the Champ du Feu radar station detected on Saturday May 6, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., an unidentified flying object.

Two weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann, still accompanied by Jean-Luc and Philippe Wassmer, return to spend a weekend at Champ du Feu. On the afternoon of Sunday, May 21, they set off for a walk at Mont National, accompanied by three friends: Mr. Winterhalter, deputy police officer, Mrs. Winterhalter and their 12-year-old daughter Dominique. Jean-Luc notices that, over a fairly large area, all the fir trees have their tops broken. No storm having occurred recently Mr. Schirrmann does not find an explanation for this fact and imagines that it could be related to the observation of May 6.

Scan.

Mr. and Mrs. Winterhalter show some reluctance to believe their friends' accounts of events near the chalet.

Around 4 p.m., Mr. Winterhalter sees, a few kilometers away, above the Champ du Feu, a surprising phenomenon: a row of seven or eight objects surrounded by halos advance slowly above the forest. The objects remain visible for a long time. This time, there are no longer four witnesses, but seven. Mr. Winterhalter begins to consider with much more interest the account of his friends.

Excerpts from "Le Mystère des OVNI" by R.J. Perrin, Pygmalion publisher, with the kind permission of its author.

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

T 06051967 from 7 to 8 pm and from 9 to 10 pm Place "Le Champ du Feu" 9 km SSE of Schirmeck 67130 B5 M62 / 8.

WITNESSES. Raymond Schirrmann, Ms. Schirrmann, their son Jean-Luc (10 years old) and his friend Philippe Wassmer (11 years old).

OBSERVATIONS.

1) At 7 pm: eight objects (or seven) aligned and equidistant. Each object consists of a dark part surrounded by a halo. The objects are just a few meters above the wood and, the ground sloping towards the observation, their altitude is the same as that of the witnesses.

2) After the disappearance of the eight or seven objects, dozens of red spots appear. These spots evoke the shape of tomatoes or boxing gloves, they slowly oscillate above the forest which is all red like on fire. At 8 pm, the red spots disappear.

3) Shortly after 9 pm, a huge black object in the shape of a lens, 15 to 20 meters in diameter, appears and emits three luminous rods that draw on the floor a white strip of light that matches the shape of three sides of a trapezoid.

EVENTS. The families of the firefighters of the city of Strasbourg have at their disposal a cottage at the locality "Champ du Feu" in the Haut-Rhin [sic]. This place is almost deserted, there is nevertheless a radar station that works in conjunction with the many military airfields in the region. (This radar station will detect a UFO on Saturday, May 6, between 8 pm and 10 pm that day at the time of observation of the Schirrmann family.)

Our four witnesses who came to spend the weekend at the "Champ de Feu" had finished dinner and went to the terrace of the chalet that overlooks, across the Bruche Valley, the Donon forest. Suddenly they saw a row of seven or eight objects consisting of a dark mass surrounded by a halo like a smoke ring. These objects slide slowly towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly, they disappear there to reappear a little further south, disperse, and simultaneously all cease to be visible.

The forest is red at the location of their disappearance. Dozens of flickering red spots gently oscillate above the forest. After 8 pm, the red spots disappear in their turn. Shortly after 9 pm, the four witnesses see appear a huge lens-shaped object approaching thirty or twenty meters from the chalet. It is black or appears black (do not forget that night fell.)

Suddenly, under the object, a kind of yellowish-white luminous ribbon ended with a bulge and using a movement that evokes that of a snake appears. After ten seconds, the "snake" disappears or goes out. Ms. Schirrmann leaves the terrace to get in the kitchen oriented towards the phenomenon, she turns on the light and opens the window with the intention to close the shutters. Suddenly, a bright shaft of a bluish white color springs from the object. Ms. Schirrmann screams and calls her husband who joins her at the kitchen window, followed by the children.

The object is motionless a few meters from the chalet and at roof height. The witnesses shiver when a clicking sound or a slight snapping sound is heard. Two luminous purple green stems joined the first, they are parallel. Their sections are different: the first is 2.5 to 3 cm. The rods terminate at about 1 m above the ground. All three appear to lie in the same plane, non-vertical, and are spaced from each other of a few tens of centimeters. They draw on the ground a curious luminous phenomenon. A white luminous strip matches the shape of three sides of a trapezoid, with the width of a hand (10 cm).

The two non-parallel sides lead to the wall of the chalet. These two light strip may persist on the wall or perhaps they close on themselves? The Strasbourg residents did not lean outside to look at the wall. The observation of these luminous phenomena lasts only about ten or fifteen seconds. A loud crack and everything disappears or suddenly switches off.

Mr. Schirrmann, worried, closes the window, but out of curiosity, returns on the terrace to see the black object that has on the upper side a greenish light cone. Suddenly, the object disappears on the spot. It is 10 pm, the four witnesses who experienced more curiosity than fear go to bed.

NOTE.

1) The inhabitants of a cottage located a few dozen meters from the firefighters who spent the evening playing cards observed nothing unusual.

2) Sunday, May 7, witnesses noted an intense aerial activity over "le Champ du Feu", mirages III R of the 133rd reconnaissance squadron stationed at the air base of Strasbourg-Entzheim.

3) Monday 8, they learn by the local daily newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg and by radio, that the radar station of the "Champ du Feu" detected, on Saturday, May 6, between 8 and 10 pm, a unidentified flying object.

4) The traces of Marliens discovered the day before.

TRACES. In the afternoon of Sunday 21, the family Schirrmann accompanied by three friends: Mr. Winterhalter, deputy police officer, Mrs. Winterhalter and their daughter Dominique, aged 12, come out for a walk at Mount National. Jean-Luc Schirrmann notes that over a fairly large area, all firs trees have broken tops. No storm having taken place recently, Mr. Schirrmann does not find an explanation for this and imagines it could be related to the observation of May 6.

Mr. Winterhalter who had shown some reluctance to believe the story of the Schirrmann family, sees a few kilometers away, on top of "Le Champ du Feu", a row of 7 to 8 objects, surrounded by halos that gently move over the forest and remain visible for a long time. This time, there are not four witnesses, but seven.

SOURCES. Phenomènes Spatiaux, GEPA, #14, p. 18-20, Joël Mesnard investigation. - Le dossier des OVNI of Henry Durrand [sic, "Durrant"]

[Ref. ivl1:] ILLO BRAND VON LUDWIGER:

B36D 5/6/1967 Hochfelden (Strasbourg) France FSR 17, No. 3, 14 (1971).

Note: "Hochfelden" is the Alsatian and German name for "le Champ du Feu".

[Ref. jsx1:] JACQUES SCORNAUX:

Scan.

Around 7 p.m. the Schirmann family observed 7 or 8 dark objects surrounded by a halo, which flew aligned and equidistant at low altitude above the forest. The objects disappeared on the spot, reappeared a little further away and then dispersed. Around 8 p.m., the witnesses saw a black lenticular object 15 to 20 meters in diameter approaching silently up to a few meters from their chalet. Suddenly, a thin bluish-white luminous rod sprang out from under the UFO, and a few seconds later, two slightly thinner purple-green tubes appeared a few tens of centimeters on either side of the first, while one heard a slight click. The three parallel rods descended obliquely towards the chalet and ended abruptly at one meter from the ground. A trapezoidal band of light was visible on the ground around the area where the stem extension terminated. After 10 to 15 seconds, the three rods disappeared with a short snapping sound. The object then moved away slowly and disappeared on the spot at a hundred meters. The witnesses had been able to distinguish a greenish luminous cone on the upper face. It was later learned that the local radar station had detected a UFO between 8 and 10 p.m.

Faced with such a story, there are, we think, only two solutions. Either the witnesses really saw something totally irreducible to a known phenomenon, or they invented a story from scratch... But what did the radar pick up then?

[Ref. cck1:] GILBERT CORNU AND HENRI CHALOUPEK:

Scan.

The next day May 6, 1967, it was the "champs du feu" near Schirmeck in the Vosges which was the site of a curious phenomenon. At 7:00 p.m., four people, Mr. and Mrs. Shirrmann, their 10-year-old son and one of his classmates saw eight dark objects surrounded by a halo which seemed aligned and equidistant in the sky, a few meters above the forest. These disappeared and were replaced by dozens of irregular red spots which oscillated gently above the forest which became all red as if it were on fire. Finally around 21 o'clock a huge black object in the shape of a lens appears; it is 15 to 20 meters in diameter and it emits three luminous "rods" which draw a white band on the ground in the shape of a trapezium near the chalet from where they observe the scene. After a snap everything disappears. Worried, Mr Shirmann closes the window, but driven by curiosity he comes out a few moments later and sees the black object which now bears a greenish luminous cone on its upper face; the vision soon disappears in place. On Sunday, May 21, they will go and inspect the forest with friends in the supposed area where the phenomenon happened and they will notice that all the fir trees have their tops broken over a fairly large area. At this moment, they see once again, all together, the phenomenon which advances slowly on the forest. (15)

[... other cases...]

- 15 - Phénomènes spatiaux of the Gepa # 14, p. 18 à 20 (investigation of Joël Mesnard)
H. Durrand: Le dossier des OVNI, p. 133 to 140 (detailes analysis)

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET - FRANCAT:

CASE NR CLASSIFICATION DATE TIME PLACE ZIP CODE CREDIBILITY SOURCES
365 CE02 06 05 1967 7 to 10 h
9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Schirmeck "Champ du Feu" 67130 B5 NI, (OVNI: p. 271

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1967, 6 mai

FRANCE, Champ du Feu (Schirmeck-Strassbourg [sic])

Mr. and Mrs. Schirrmann, their son Jean-Luc (10 years old), his friend Philippe Wassmer (11 years old) came to spend the weekend in the cottage Champ du Feu. It is 7 pm, the occupants have finished dinner and go to the terrace from where they can admire the sunset. Pure sky empty of cloud. Suddenly a row of 7 or 8 aligned and equidistant objects appear to the west-northwest at a distance of about 2 km. Each object consists of a dark part surrounded by a halo like a smoke ring. The objects appear to be a few tens of meters above the wood and the ground sloping in the direction of observation, their altitude is roughly the same as the witnesses. (1000 m) In the minutes following their appearance, the objects glide slowly south towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly they disappear there, and then reappear a little further south, all disperse and simultaneously cease to be visible. To the west, where the objects disappeared, the forest is all red like on fire, although the sun goes down. Dozens of red spots gently oscillate over the forest. Observed with binoculars the shaky spots have shapes that evoke tomatoes or boxing gloves. It is 20 o'clock, the night falls. The red spots also disappear. Shortly after 9 pm the four witnesses see appear a hundred meters from the chalet, from the south, a huge black object - or appearing black - in the shape of a lens of 15-20 m in diameter. In total silence the saucer slowly approach the cottage. It is horizontal and stands a little higher than the witnesses who do not distinguish the underside. The saucer is just 20 or 30 meters from the chalet. Suddenly a kind of yellowish white light ribbon appears under the object. It seems terminated by a bulge and is animated by a movement that makes Mr. Schirrmann think of that of a snake and Jean-Luc that of an octopus tentacle. After ten seconds the snake disappears or goes out. Ms. Schirrmann leaving the terrace to visit the south-west facing kitchen, turns on the light and opened the window with the intention to close the shutters, probably driven by an instinctive desire to put something between the object and witnesses. Yet, just like her husband and children, she is seized with panic. Suddenly a luminous rod springs from under the saucer, Ms. Schirrmann screams and calls her husband, who joined her at the kitchen window, followed by the children. The saucer is there, motionless, a few meters from the chalet and at roof height. A shiver runs through the Strasbourg residents when a click or a slight snapping sound is heard. Two luminous rods join the first. They are parallel, but while the former is bluish-white, the two other are green-purple. Their sections are also different: the first stem is as big as the thumb, the other two are thinner than the small finger. The rods terminate at about 1 m above the ground. All three appear to lie in the same vertical plane and are spaced from each other by only a few tens of centimeters. The ends of the stems are, according to Mr. Schirrmann, cut short like a sausage. Another curious luminous phenomenon is noteworthy: on the ground, a white light strip matches the shape of three sides of a trapezoid. This strip is as wide as the hand. The three bright rods are pointing towards the interior of the trapezoid whose two non-parallel sides lead to the wall of the cottage. Perhaps the light strip continues on the wall, perhaps it closed in on itself? The witness do not lean outside to watch the wall. The observation of these luminous phenomena lasts only about ten or fifteen seconds and everything disappears or goes out, suddenly, in a sharp cracking sound. Mr. Schirrmann says, I do not like that, let's go! and closes the window and then, out of curiosity, returns on the terrace. The object slides slowly towards the north, away from home. The witnesses can distinguished on its upper face, a greenish light cone. Suddenly the object disappears there, again without noise, while it was about a hundred meters from the chalet. It is just over 10 pm, the witnesses go to bed. (..) (Henry Durrant, "Le dossier des OVNI" - Laffont 1973 - p 133-136.)

[Ref. fgi1:] FRANCIS GATTI:

Testimonial 6:

THE CHAMP DU FEU Saturday, May 6, 1967 the Family Schirrmann on weekend in the Vosges near Schirmeck at the location "le champ du feu"; at about 9 p.m. a huge dark saucer was spotted 15 m from the chalet. In total silence the machine that measures about 20 meters in diameter approached within a few meters from the chalet overlooking it slightly. Sizzling light rods are under the craft.

-a radar station is nearby.

-Presence of children: the son of family jean-luc ten years old and his comrade 11 years old.

-the local press reports at the same hours [sic] the radar had detected a flying object impossible to identify.

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:

8216: 1967/05/06 19:00 180 7:16:00 E 48:24:00 N 3333 WEU FRN BRH 9:A

SSE/SHIRMECK,FR:8 SCRS GO BY:BANDS/LITE END/MIDAIR!:1 nr CHALET:RDR:/r30p271

Ref#193 PHENOMENA SPATIAUX Quarterly, Paris Issue No. 14 : MIL. BASE

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

Encounters with Aliens on this Day

May 6

1967 - Raymond Schirrmann, his wife, and two children of Schirmeck, Bas-Rhine department, France first sighted seven or eight black, lenticular objects at 7:00 p.m. over a grove of trees at an estimated distance of two kilometers. They were aligned in a straight, diagonal line in the sky, and each was surrounded by a halo of smoke. At 9:00 p.m. a large lens-shaped object, 15-20 meters in diameter, was seen close to the ground near their chalet only 25 meters away. A coherent beam of light snaked away from the object, ending in midair. It detached, then retracted into the object. Following this some landing legs appeared. The event lasted three hours, and the UFOs were tracked by radar at a nearby military base. (Sources: Michel Figuet Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochees en France, p. 271; Richard F. Haines, Project Delta: A Study of Multiple UFO, p. 91, citing UNICAT; UNICAT database, case 403, citing Figuet & Ruchon; Phenomenes Spatiaux, December 1967).

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN - "BASE OVNI FRANCE":

Shirmeck (67) on 06 May 1967

General features

Num Base: 1462
Department: Bas Rhin (67)
Place of observation: Shirmeck [sic, "Schirmeck"]
Latitude: 48.483
Longitude: +7.216
Date of observation: 06 May 1967
Hour: 19:00 hours
Duration (HH:MM:SS): 02:00:00
Weather: No weather indication
Type of observation: Visual : close
Nbr of witness(es): 4
Official investigation: Yes

Features of the object

Nbr of object: 1
Type of object: Disc
Size: Not specified
Color: Noir
Luminosity: Not specified
Visual characteristics: truncated beam
Speed: not defined
Movement/Displacement: Various maneuvers
Object on the ground: No
Instantaneous disappearance: Yes

Type of noted effects

Physical effects: Action on the plants, Radar Echo,

Observation

Four people are in a cottage at a place called "Champ de feu" [sic], having finished dinner they go on the terrace, from where they distinguish beyond the Bruche Valley the Donon forest. Suddenly they observed seven or eight objects consisting of a dark mass surrounded by a halo like a smoke ring. They are within a few meters above the woods, and an equivalent altitude than the observers. These objects slide slowly towards the hamlet of Bellefosse. Suddenly they disappear there to reappear a little further south. They disperse and cease all together to be visible. However at the location of their disparrance [sic], dozens of flickering red spots shaped like tomatoes or boxing glove gently oscillate over the forest that seems like burning. After 20 hours the spots dissapear [sic]. Just after 21 hours then appears a huge lens-shaped object 15-20 meters in diameter and black. It comes within thirty meters of the chalet. Suddenly a kind of yellowish white light ribbon ended with a bulge and a vibrant movement evoking a snake appears. After ten seconds it goes out. One of the witnesses then left the terrace to get to the kitchen oriented towards the phenomenon to close the shutters. Suddenly, a bluish-white light rod springs from the object, the witness screams, he is then joined by others. The object is still a few meters of roof height to the chalet. A click is heard. Two bright purple green rods are then joined to the first, they terminate at about 1 meter above the ground, they seem not located in the same vertical plane and are spaced from each other by a few tens of centimeters. They draw on the ground a strange trapezoidal light phenomenon. Two sides come to the foot of the wall of the cottage, the witnesses do not verify if they continue on the wall itself. After a dozen seconds a new slam and everything disappears. One witness closes the window, but back on the terrace and always seeing the object, he finds that it is on top of a greenish light cone. Suddenly the object disappears on the spot. Total duration of observation between the first phenomenon and the disappearance 2:00. Some time later it is found that at the national mountain, over a fairly large area, all pines have their tops broken, while no storm had recently broken. A radar observation was made by the radar station nearby at the time of the appearance of the biggest phenomenon between 9 pm and 10 pm.

Sources

Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979

[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:

Loren Gross reproduces the source [fsr1] available above; by mistake he places the case in Germany in his index.

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

May 6, 1967; Schirmeck, Bas-Rhein, Germany

7:00 p.m. LT. Seven lenticular (disc-shaped) black objects, aligned diagonally, each with a diameter estimated as 50 feet or more, were seen above a grove of trees about 2 km away. Each had a "smoky halo" around it. The objects suddenly vanished, then reappeared and vanished again, leaving traces in the forest. Truncated light beams ("solid light") were emitted from three of the objects, one white and two greenish. Although the beams did not reach the ground, a band of light was visible on the ground beneath them. A larger object was seen near the ground. A flexible light beam was also reported that detached from a lenticular object and then retracted itself. (Haines, 1994, pp. 91-92, from UNICAT catalogue #403.)

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

6 May 1967 21:00

Schirmeck, Alsace, France

And 7 lenticular black objects just above grove of trees, 2km away, each 15-20m diameter, aligned in diagonal line. Beams of lights emitted, objects vanished, reappeared. A large object near house, legs.

Raymond Schirrmann, his wife, and two children of Schirmeck, Bas-Rhine department, France first sighted seven or eight black, lenticular objects at 7:00 p.m. over a grove of trees at an estimated distance of two kilometers. They were aligned in a straight, diagonal line in the sky, and each was surrounded by a halo of smoke. At 9:00 p.m. a large lens-shaped object, 15-20 meters in diameter, was seen close to the ground near their chalet only 25 meters away. A coherent beam of light snaked away from the object, ending in midair. It detached, then retracted into the object. Following this some landing legs appeared. The event lasted three hours, and the UFOs were tracked by radar at a nearby military base.

Flying discs were tracked by radar and sighted visually. Eight black discs, about 40 feet across, were observed by four witnesses at a military facility for 45 minutes (Schirrmann, Raymond).

Hynek rating: RV

Vallee rating: MA2

Vallee reliability rating: 343

The sources are indicated as: "Poher, Claude, Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Temoignag, Author, undated; GEPA, Phenomenes Spatiaux; Haines, Richard F., Project Delta: A Study of Multiple UFO, L.D.A. Press, Los Altos, 1994, ISBN:0-9618082-4-1; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002; Smith, Willy, UNICAT computer database."

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

6 May 1969 :

Schirmeck, Alsace, France

Objects were sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. Three objects were observed by four witnesses.

Hynek rating: CE1

Vallee rating: CE1

The sources are indicated as: "Contact U.K., Contact U.K.."

[Ref. uf1:] "UFO-DATENBANK.DE":

Case number:19670506
New case number:
Date of observation:05/06/1967
Hour of observation:09.00 p.m.
Zip code:
Place of observation:Schirmeck
Geocoordinates:
Length:
Source:
Width:
Federal state:
Country of observation:France
Witnesses:
Classification:
Revision
Identification:
Investigation:
State of the research:(WRITTEN) Reproduction
Investigator::
Source:DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002

Cas nummer:19670506
New case number:
Date of observation:05/06/1967
Hour of observation:21.00
Zip code:
Place of observation:Schirmeck
Geocoordinates:
Length:
Source:
Width:
Federal state:
Country of observation:France
Witnesses:
Classification:
Revision
Identification:
Investigation:
State of the research:(WRITTEN) Reproduction
Investigator::
Source:DUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002

Case number:19670506
New case number:
Date of observation:05/06/1967
Hour of observation:
Zip code:
Place of observation:Hochdelden
Geocoordinates:
Length:
Source:
Width:
Federal state:
Country of observation:France
Witnesses:
Classification:
Revision
Identification:
Investigation:
State of the research:(WRITTEN) Reproduction
Investigator::
Source:Ungewöhnliche Eigenschaften nichtidentifizierbare Lichterscheinungen - Illo Brand - MUFON-CES e.V. - 1979, Seite 215

[Ref. isu1:] "ISUNDGAU" BLOG:

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

In May 1967, unidentifiedobject above their country cottage at the Champ du Feu, observation made by firemen.

There is no source reference for this case, cited among other cases. There is only at the end of the article a series of links to UFO websites, including an obsolete link to the home page of my own Website.

[Ref. tvr1:] THIERRY VAN DE LEUR:

The author says that on May 6, 1967, a lenticular craft of 20 m in diameter hovered above a cottage at the Champ du Feu between 8 p,m, and 10 p.m. hours, confirmed by military radars. It had arrived there accompanied by 7 other similar devices, aligned, but that did not park there.

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

Date:

Location:

Time:

Summary: May 6, 1967; Schirmeck, Bas-Rhein, Germany

7:00 p.m. LT. Seven lenticular (disc-shaped) black objects, aligned diagonally, each with a diameter estimated as 50 feet or more, were seen above a grove of trees about 2 km away. Each had a “smoky halo” around it. The objects suddenly vanished, then reappeared and vanished again, leaving traces in the forest. Truncated light beams (“solid light”) were emitted from three of the objects, one white and two greenish. Although the beams did not reach the ground, a band of light was visible on the ground beneath them. A larger object was seen near the ground. A flexible light beam was also reported that detached from a lenticular object and then retracted itself. (Haines, 1994, pp. 91-92, from UNICAT catalogue #403.)

Source:

[Ref. fbi1:] FRANCESCO DI BLASI:

Witness the family of Raymond Schirrman (Fireman) consisting of four people.

Around 9 p.m. the Schirrmann family, sitting on the terrace of their cottage, find themselves surrounded by "a huge lens-shaped object, dark in color; which stops at about twenty yards from the house." Suddenly, from the bottom of the UFO, comes a kind of bright "ribbon", ending with a "bump", which seems to want to "test the water". The Schirrmann lady, worried, goes back into the house, soon followed by the other family members, ewhen opening the kitchen window (facing the phenomenon) to close the shutters, she is hit by a beam of bluish light emanating from the UFO. Frightened, she does not have enough time to shout to call her husband (the "ray of light" lasts about fifteen seconds), then everything turns "off." A confirmation of the sighting which was disconcerting to the involuntary protagonist, the Schirrmann family significantly assists the next morning, Sunday, May 7) to an unusual and intense aerial activity in the skies of Champ du Feu, by "Mirage III-R" aircraft belonging to the 33rd Reconnaissance Squadron, stationed in Entzheim . From Mr. Raymond, thanks to his profession, he learns that the radar station of the Rhine (which works in conjunction with military airports in the region ) had detected a Ufo in the same area, date and time of the sighting made by his family.

[Ref. spa1:] "SPICA" UFOLOGY ASSOCIATION:

City Date and hour of observation General shape
Identification
General color
Hypothesis
Conclusion
SCHIRMECK-CHAMP-DU-FEU Saturday 6 May 1967 at 19:00 saucer, football (3D)
Unidentified
black
None
Unsolved -lack of info

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFODATENBANK":

Case ID19670506
Global case number:19670506-0010-UDB
Date of observation (Day)6
Date of observation (Month)5
Date of observation(Year)1967
Hour of observation
Zip Code
Place of observationHochfelden
County
Federal state
CountryFrance
Witnesses
Hynek Classification
Vallee Classification
Ruthledge Classification
Henke Classification
Evaluation
Identification
Investigations
Status of the investigation
DomainUFO-Datenbank
Case added by
Latest change by:
Investigator in charge of the case
SourceUngewöhnliche Eigenschaften nicht Identifizierbare Lichterscheinungen - Illo Brand - MUFON-CES e.V. - 1979, Seite 215
State of the information25.04.2015 22:16
Accesses to this record2
Link to Openmaphttp://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=Hochdelden,France
Link to the observationhttp://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=4a7b98f0-9efc-4711-99d1-90c3dcad7c29
Summary for guestsThe facts and potential other documents will be published in time. We thank you for your patience.
Preview image

Case ID19670506
Global case number:19670506-0012-UDB
Date of observation (Day)6
Date of observation (Month)5
Date of observation(Year)1967
Hour of observation21.00
Zip Code
Place of observationSchirmeck
County
Federal state
CountryFrance
Witnesses
Hynek Classification
Vallee Classification
Ruthledge Classification
Henke Classification
Evaluation
Identification
Investigations
Status of the investigation
DomainUFO-Datenbank
Case added by
Latest change by:
Investigator in charge of the case
SourceDUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002
State of the information25.04.2015 22:16
Accesses to this record2
Link to Openmaphttp://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=Schirmeck,France
Link to the observationhttp://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=59f115b9-41f3-4aef-8f84-a6ee08b65048
Summary for guestsThe facts and potential other documents will be published in time. We thank you for your patience.
Preview image

Case ID19670506
Global case number:19670506-0004-UDB
Date of observation (Day)6
Date of observation (Month)5
Date of observation(Year)1967
Hour of observation21.00
Zip Code
Place of observationSchirmeck
County
Federal state
CountryFrance
Witnesses
Hynek Classification
Vallee Classification
Ruthledge Classification
Henke Classification
Evaluation
Identification
Investigations
Status of the investigation
DomainUFO-Datenbank
Case added by
Latest change by:
Investigator in charge of the case
SourceDUFOA-Deutschland - SiDat - 1996-2002
State of the information25.04.2015 22:16
Accesses to this record2
Link to Openmaphttp://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=Schirmeck,France
Link to the observationhttp://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=1ee60920-1da5-47d7-bf29-324c9ef3c44f
Summary for guestsThe facts and potential other documents will be published in time. We thank you for your patience.
Preview image

Discussion:

About the place:

Map.

I kept the name Schirmeck for these events, because that's how the case is best known; however, the chalet in question is more than 8 km south-south-east of Schirmeck. The nearest town is Belmont at 1700 meters to the west. The place of observation is called "Le Champ du Feu", it is an area comprising a hotel, accommodation, chalets, and a ski slope on its non-wooded part descending towards the East.

Carte.

Below: situation of the mentioned places.

Map.

About Joël Mesnard:

The investigator who published on this case initially is Joël Mesnard, a well-known figure in French ufology. He was born in 1943. He became a professor of Mathematics, and began to conduct ufological investigations in 1958. Passionate about aviation, he later worked at Aviation Magazine.

In 1967, he joined the Groupe d'Etude des Phénomènes Aériens (GEPA), a private ufology group which was founded in reaction to a "drift" towards sensationalism of other groups.

In 1985, he took over the management of the main ufology magazine in France, Lumières Dans La Nuit, while continuing his field investigations, and it is in this capacity that he is the best known. He is also the author of these four books:

"Men in Black - L'étrange affaire des hommes en noir et des ovnis"(2005); "Vérités et mensonges sur les OVNIS" (2008); "Les apparitions d'Ovnis - Les dossiers non classés"; (2016) "Affrontements extraterrestres - Les dossiers non classés" (2021).

About GEPA:

The GEPA ufology group was founded in 1962 by René and Françine Fouéré, bringing together a significant number of French scientists and military officers, growing from 60 members to nearly 500 in 1968.

From 1964 to 1970, GEPA was chaired by General Lionel-Max Chassin, former Commander-in-Chief of the Territorial Air Defense. Its quarterly journal was Phénomènes Spatiaux, in which the investigation into this case appeared. The activities of the GEPA ceased in 1977, when a group, this time official, was formed: GEPAN (which would become SEPRA and is now the GEIPAN).

About the case:

To me it is clear that, provided that the facts reported really happened this way, there is no chance of explaining them by anything ordinary or trivial. The "saucer" was not a helicopter, not a meteor, not a lenticular cloud, etc. etc.

Before committing myself further however, I want to try to find concrete traces of certain elements, starting with this:

"Les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg" does not exist; but I guess one has to understand that it was Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, Strasbourg local issue. Anyway, to find such an article, or to find that it was never published there, seems decisive to me.

Evaluation:

Possible extraterrestrial visitors.

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 August 2, 2022 Creation, [psx1], [psx2], [ufr1], [fsr1], [hdt1], [gal1], [his1], [rjn1], [fru1], [ivl1], [mft1], [goe1], [gg1], [lhh1], [lcn1], [uda1], [uda2], [isu1], [nip1], [tai1], [fbi1], [spa1], [ubk1].
1.0 Patrick Gross August 2, 2022 First published.

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict



 Feedback  |  Top  |  Back  |  Forward  |  Map  |  List |  Home
This page was last updated on August 2, 2022.