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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.

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Case of Lautenbach, in 1968:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1968-00-00-LAUTENBACH-1

Summary:

In the "Contact Lecteurs" supplement of the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit for July 1972, an anonymous reader reported he experienced two observations in Lautenbach, one in 1951, one in 1953, and he reported a 1968 sighting.

For the latter, only dated "1968", he wrote that at 05:00 am, in Lautenbach in the Haut-Rhin, his brother and a friend saw a silent "disc-shaped object successively emitting red, yellow, green and blue lights."

There was no investigation or checking, no other information. The case could be explained in many ordinary manners (Plane? Meteor? Star?), but the short summary was published as a UFO sighting, in even shorter form, on several French UFO websites thereafter.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: 1968
Time: 05:00 a.m.
Duration: ?
First known report date: July 1972
Reporting delay: 4 years.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Lautenbach
Place: ?
Latitude: 47.941
Longitude: 7.159
Uncertainty radius: 5 km

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 2
Number of known witnesses: 0
Number of named witnesses: 0
Witness(es) ages: ?
Witness(es) types: Male.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: The brother, multiple UFO witness, reported to ufology magazine LDLN.
Type of location: ?
Visibility conditions: Night
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: ?
UFO departure observed: ?
Entities: No
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): No.
Witness(es) feelings: ?
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: NL
ALSACAT: Totally insufficient data. Plane, meteor...?

Sources:

[Ref. ldl1:] "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

FROM OUR READERS

68 - HAUT-RHIN, a. and c. Guebwiller LAUTENBACH

Unfortunately no exact date but interesting for the place is the same.

- 1951, A July evening, about 23 hours, I saw three balls the size of an orange, orange-red, crossing silently each other in the sky between Lautenbach and Soultzmatt.

- 1953, At about 23 hours, I saw from Lautenbach a big ball the diameter of the full moon silently following a curve over a mountain ridge.

- 1968 At 5 a.m. my brother, along with a friend, saw a disc-shaped object successively emitting red, yellow, green and blue lights. The object was silent.

Location: Lautenbach.

[Ref. lcn1:] "BASE OVNI FRANCE" WEBSITE:

Lautenbach (68) in 1968

General features

Num Base: 1523
Department: Haut Rhin (68)
Place of observation: Lautenbach
Latitude: 47.95
Longitude: +7.15
Date of observation: 1968
Hour: 05:00 hours
Duration (HH:MM:SS): N.C.
Weather: No weather indication
Type of observation: Visual: Distant
Nbr of witness(es): 2
Official investigation: No

Features of the object

Nbr of object: 1
Type of object: Disc
Size: Not specified
Color: Change of color
Luminosity: Not specified
Visual characteristics: No indication
Speed: not defined
Movement/Displacement: Not specified
Object on the ground: No
Instantaneous disappearance: No

Observation

Observation by two witnesses of an object in the shape of a disc emitting in succession red, yellow, green and blue lights.

Sources

Lumières dans la Nuit

[Ref. spi1:] "SPACE OVNI" WEBSITE:

1968, in Lautenbach (Disc)

Department : Haut Rhin ( 68 )
Place : Lautenbach
Date : 1968
Number of witness : 2
Number of UFOs : 1
Shape of the UFO : Disc
Geographical map : Click here [Actually no link here.]
Conclusion of this observation : No conclusion

Citation:

At 05 o'clock.

Observation by two witnesses of an object in the shape of a disc emitting in succession red, yellow, green and blue lights.

Source : Lumières dans la Nuit

Note: this case file is obviously a simplified copy of [lcn1].

[Ref. oio1:] "OVNI-INFO" WEBSITE:

1968

- In Lautenbach, 1968 (Disc)

There is no indication of a source. There is a link, but it points to a nonexistent page of a web forum, "space-ovni".

[Ref. ota1:] "OVNIS ET SOUCOUPES VOLANTES A TRAVERS LES AGES" WEBSITE:

31628

1968 Lautenbach Haut Rhin (68) france

Date of observation : 1968 Hour : 05:00 o'clock

Type of observation: Visual : Distant Nbr of Witnesses: 2

Observation by two witnesses of an object in the shape of a disc emitting in succession red, yellow, green and blue lights.

Sources Lumières dans la Nuit par **

http://www.forum-ovni-ufologie.com/divers-cas-d-observation-d-ovni-f79/

Note: this case file is obviously again a simplified copy of [lcn1].

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

City Date and hour of observation General shape
Identification
General color
Hypothesis
Conclusion
LAUTENBACH 1968 at 05:00 Circular, round or disc (2D)
Unidentified
Several colors
None
Unsolved -lack of info

Discussion:

Map.

The strangeness of the sighting is very weak, and the data is far too small for evaluation. Was there a trail and then was it a meteor? What about the duration, distance, direction, date? Did the thing move or was it perhaps a star diffracted by ice crystals of a cloud layer?

Note that none of the secondary sources mentions the original source accurately and none said that the brother of one of the alleged witnesses had seen UFOs or flying saucers twice.

Scan.

Above: Location of Lautenbach in the Haut-Rhin.

Evaluation:

Totally insufficient data. Plane, meteor...?

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
Editor: Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version: Create/changed by: Date: Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross August 19, 2014 Creation, [ldl1], [lcn1], [spi1], [oio1], [ota1].
1.0 Patrick Gross August 19, 2014 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross May 23, 2015 Addition [spa1].

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This page was last updated on May 23, 2015.