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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 Riedisheim, on June 25, 1971:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1971-06-25-RIEDISHEIM-1

Summary:

The essential report on this unusual case was written by local ufologist investigator Jean-Pierre Schirch, and published in the ufological magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit in April 1972. I supplemented it with details about the places and details collected from the main witness by journalist Christian Valentin in 2008.

On June 25, 1971, at about 11 p.m., 18-year-old Joel Schweitzer and his comrade who asked to remain anonymous had visited a female friend and were returning home.

They came from the hill of Entremont on the edge of Riedisheim, culminating at 283 meters, from where Mulhouse can be overseen. The descent is fairly steep, and before reaching the railroad tracks from Mulhouse to Basel, it ends on what was then a large meadow, surrounded by newly-built houses, except on the east side where fields were still extending, back then.

The night was rather dark, there had been a thunderstorm in the evening, the weather was heavy, big black clouds were passing in the sky, the moon did not seem to light the landscape - it was set down or about to set down.

The two youngsters were coming down a vague path to the edge of the meadow when they saw a light in the distance to the northeast. It looked like an electric flashlight far away from them. It seemed to be getting closer, which intrigued them, and they began to observe it.

They said it was very bright, and gave the impression of spinning. It came down over the girls' private school of St. Ursule, and continued to come, still coming down, and getting closer to them. The light was now shaped like a disc.

According to what Mr. Schirch said, this disc had one flat surface, and the other surface was bulged - it was like a cap - and the advance was more or less with the flat face vertical to the axis of displacement.

The object was soon vertical to the meadow, at a height of about 15 meters according to the estimate of witnesses. The disc then stopped, remained there for 2 to 3 seconds, its brightness appearing to weaken - though it never went out throughout the duration of the observation.

The two witnesses saw this light, which seemed very white to them, and noticed that the ground was lit up below because they could distinguish the grass of the meadow. In 2008, Mr. Schweitzer told that the light was dazzling.

During its hovering, the object performed a reversal maneuver: the flat face tilted to face the ground, and from that moment the disk was in the form of a sphere segment. It gave a strong impression of being in very fast rotation, like a top.

There was a light, like a white beacon, on the top of the object, which seemed to be able to be oriented, tilted, and gave an appearance of blinking - the witnesses could not explain the cause of this blinking.

After a few seconds of stopping, the object descended to the ground, very slowly and the descent was done vertically. The ground was now well lit, and the object took 3 or 4 seconds before reaching the ground, without any other particular movement observed during this descent.

At no time did the witnesses hear any noise. The numerous dogs around did not bark.

The two friends had sat down, a little frightened, about to flee, when they saw the object stopped in its descent remaining stationary 25 meters from them. Its brightness had increased during the descent, then it weakened, always blinking a little.

The object appeared to have landed, or was in close proximity to the ground. It did not move at all, and its light lit up the grass. There was a shadow area under the object, where it was impossible to distinguish anything. The surroundings were lit up.

The witnesses could not see any feet or landing gear, because the contrast between the shadow zone and the illuminated part of the ground was too strong.

The object remained like this for about a minute and a half, then it went up vertically, still very slowly, and took for a few moments the position it occupied before the descent, 15 meters above the ground, the face flat facing the ground.

It then started to swirl and left slowly. The light illuminated the ground like when it had arrived, that is to say weakly, more and more feebly as it moved away - they saw the ground become darker as it went.

Eventually, it shot away at high speed, with no noticeable acceleration, almost horizontally, and faded into the night.

The size of the object was estimated at 8 meters in diameter and 2 meters in height. The hue was difficult to define, some parts shone as if they were metallic, especially the outlines.

The next day, Joël Schweitzer and his friend returned to the spot, and found traces in the grass where the object had been. These traces were very visible. The meadow had been mown a few days before, the vegetation, mostly alfalfa, with some grass, was 5 to 10 cm high. The vegetation had no time to resume its growth since its last cut, and the ground was very dry.

According to the investigator, the traces were a circle of 6.20 meters in diameter, with, in its center, a figure of "H" of 2.20 meters by 2.20 meters. There were also three circular traces 30 centimeters in diameter, eccentric to the circle, and a small square hole. One of the 30 cm traces was inside the circle, the two others were outside the circle at 5.50 of the first one and distant from each other of 4.20 meters. A precise plan of these traces has been drawn up, visible further below in this file. Several photographs were also taken.

The surface of these traces state materialized by the aspect of the grass: it was flattened, and like blackened but without being burned by a source of heat, preserving its aspect of grass.

This trace has posed many problems and caused many interpretations. First, in their 1979 book, two "skeptical" ufologists, Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, told that what was in the trace was soot - like if it was an explanation: "Mulhouse, June 25, 1971, the trace was made of soot." No information was given as to how it was determined to be soot, and no other information than this was given by these authors about this case.

A first problem was the following: on the pictures taken, the trace is "white", or at least, lighter than the surrounding grass. However, according to initial findings, it should have been "blackened." Did someone "mark" the trace with plaster or flour to make it visible on the photographs? All that appears to be known is that the photographs had been taken several weeks after the alleged landing, the traces being still visible in September according to the main witness.

A second issue is that the circle with its "H" in the center is exactly the design of an helicopter landing area marking - I can assure that that meadow was not a heliport per se. But it turns out that in 2008, Joel Schweitzer had told Christian Valentin that he does not remember that there was any "H" in the trace.

Finally, this "H" in a circle has been interpreted by authors - generally Hispanic - as an indication that this had been the landing of a flying saucer from the planet "Ummo". "Ummo" was a gigantic hoax performed in Spain essentially, one of the elements being fake photos of a "flying saucer" from Ummo allegedly seen in the suburbs of Madrid, Spain, in 1966, showing on its underside a drawing that would recall the "H". But in reality, Ummo's "saucer" did not carry an "H" but a shape with one more bar than the "H" in its center - the resemblance is totally dubious - see below in this file.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: June 25, 1971
Time: ~11:00 p.m.
Duration: 1.36 minutes or more.
First known report date: April 1972
Reporting delay: Days, months.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Riedisheim
Place: From the edge of a meadow, UFO in the sky and in the meadow.
Latitude: 47.754
Longitude: 7.377
Uncertainty radius: 50 m

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 2
Number of known witnesses: 1 or 2
Number of named witnesses: 1
Witness(es) ages: 18, young adults.
Witness(es) types: Young adults.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Not known.
Type of location: From the edge of a meadow, UFO in the sky and in the meadow.
Visibility conditions: 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): Probably.
Witness(es) feelings: Puzzled.
Witnesses interpretation: ?

Classifications:

Hynek: CE2
ALSACAT: Unidentified, extraterrestrial craft or hoax.

Sources:

[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERE DANS LA NUIT":

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Landing in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin)

Investigation by J.-P. Schirch

Joël Scheweitzer [sic, "Schweitzer"], of Mulhouse-Riedisheim and his friend (who requested anonymity) that night had visited a friend living in the suburbs and returned to their home around 11:00.

The place where they came from is located on a hill culminating at 283 m.; which overlooks Mulhouse. The descent is quite fast and, before reaching the railway tracks, covers a large meadow basin surrounded by overlooking newer homes except on the E side where fields extend to the vast forest of the Hardt.

The night was quite dark, in the evening a storm broke out, the weather was heavy, dark clouds passing in the sky, the moon did not appear to light up the nature (set down or about to set down and young of 3 days).

Our two young people came down a vague path on the edge of the meadow, when they saw towards the NE a light in the distance. It had the appearance of a flashlight being far away from them. It seemed to come closer; which intrigued them, and they began to observe it.

It was very clear, they say, like an electronic flash, and gave the impression of swirling, while approaching more and more to them. It now took the form of a disc. According to testimonies collected by Mr. Schirch, this disc would have had a flat face and another curved face, and the advance was more or less perpendicular to this flat face situated in the direction of the move.

The object descended arriving to the two witnesses, and soon was vertical to the meadow, and at a height of 15 m as they judged. At that moment, it stopped its advance, stayed on thr spot for 2 to 3 seconds, then appeared to weaken its brightness (without otherwise disappearing in the entire period of observation). Both witnesses saw perfectly that light that they found to be very white, and they noticed that the ground was lit below because they were able to distinguish the grass of the meadow.

While it had hovered, the object performed a turning upside down maneuver: the flat face tilted towards the ground, and from that time the disc was in the form of a spherical segment. It gave a very good impression of turning on itself very quickly, like a top. One saw the light located above the machine, and it gave a flickering appearance: the witnesses could not explain the cause of the flash.

After a few seconds of hovering, the object began to descend to the ground. The maneuver was done very slowly and the descent was vertical. The ground was now well lit and the object took 3 or 4 seconds before reaching the ground: no particular movement was observed during the descent. At no time did the witnesses hear a sound, and yet the numerous dogs in the area did not bark.

The two friends who sat down during their observation were a little frightened, close to flee when they saw the object stopped in its descent and remain stationary at 25 meters from them. The brightness was

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LOCATION MAP (F. Lagarde)

T Place of the landing
A Direction the object came from
D Direction the object departed to Mulhouse: 47' 45 N -7° 20 E
Riedisheim: 47' 45 N -7° 22 E

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increased during the descent, and then it faded, always blinking a bit.

The object appeared to have landed, or stood close to the ground. It was not moving at all, and the light illuminated the grass. One saw a gray area under the object where it was impossible to distinguish anything. The area around it was illuminated.

It was impossible to see whether the object was on a landing gear or on the ground, and if it had legs, the contrast between the gray area and the illuminated outer part was too strong.

The object remained in that position for about a minute and a half. Then it rose vertically, always

- 10 -

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very slowly, and resumed for a moment its position before the descent to 15 m. above the ground, the flat face facing the ground. It then began to swirl and went away slowly. The light illuminated the ground as when it came, that is to say weakly, and this, lesser and lesser as its distance increased; the ground was darkening progressively.

Finally, last move, it went away at a very high speed, almost horizontally, and everything vanished into the night.

THE OBJECT

Little is known about it in addition to what has been said. It looks like a spherical cap that showed itself in the form of a disc and of a segment. No appendage has been noticed, but the craft had a sort of beacon at the top, which seemed to be able of directing itself or at least to tilt.

The dimensions may have been 8 meters in diameter and 2 meters high. The hue is difficult to define, some parts were shining as if they were of metal, particularly the edges.

THE TRACES ON THE GROUND

The object left traces that were very visible, as soon as the next day when the two friends returned to the place. The meadow had been mowed several days ago and the grass was 5 to 10 cm in height. I noticed it was mostly alfalfa mixed with grass and growth had not resumed since the last cut, the ground is very dry. On the traces, this grass had a curious appearance, like blackened without having been burned by a heat source, ie without being consumed, maintaining its grass appearance.

One first saw a circle of 6.20 meters in diameter, three circular marks of 30 cm in diameter, arranged in a triangle, and finally a small square hole in the ground.

In the central part of the circle was visible, very well designed, as a kind of capital H letter: the height of the branches of the H is 2.20 m and the spacing was of this dimension.

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(Sketch by F. Lagarde)

THE TRACES IN MULHOUSE
NS direction north-south, The direction of the traces is spotted relative to the north in the direct sense,
A: arrival - D: departure.

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The traces of 30 cm, like the H, were formed by crushed grass, flattened and lying almost at ground level. They still appeared quite visible is September and the H looks great in photos. The three rounds were spread apart -5.1 4.2 and 5.5 meters.

See the sketch that was done.

A posteriori notes

The two young men did not notice anything in particular other than this machine. One may wonder why, in a populous place, surrounded by many houses, almost in the city, no other witness came forward. This is a note that is frequently made. It is possible that circumstances did not lend to a particular alarm. The craft made no sound, it came rather late: about 9:30 p.m., after a storm, few people actually had their eyes turned outwards during the short sequence of time during which the craft manifested.

The observation conditions were not the same as those of the witnesses, and how many of those who might have seen this would have had the courage to make their observation public?

Investigators do not explain the exact cause of the noted traces. If the craft is at the origin, it is impossible to know what is the mark of 6.20 meters in diameter which duplicates, one might say, with the three 30 cm round noted as could have been attributed to the imprint of three supports as is often observed. Same question mark about the center trace reminiscent of those of San Jose de Valderas in 1967 (Spain) and the arrangement of feet (and the H) is that of Aluche February 1966 (Spain). These observations confirm each other in some way, but the mystery remains unsolved.

Editors Note. - Mulhouse is located on a geological fault. BAVIC is going at 10 km at the NW. Mulhouse is moreover on the geodesic line of 1100 km of observations across borders of five countries cited by A. Michel (Southend to Po di Gnocco) in his book "About the Flying Saucers" which is still a good read. It is in Kembs-Niffer that an observation was made on October 15, 1954 (8 km). On 07/23/68 it was a Mr. Bouaziz who watched a huge luminous pale orange colored disc (Contact 96 bis for November 68). On May 26, 1970, it was Miss Chantal Denis who observes from the park of the University City, at 11:45 p.m., an object coming down and going back up three times, following the 8 of a rollercoaster in the sky (Contact No. 4, November 70).

If we go back in history, in Ruelisheim (6 km or N), according to the legend, young people lost in the forest would have seen a venerable oak suddenly darkened, and from the charred trunk a statue of the Virgin reportedly rose up, intact resplendent: a chapel was built in 1704 by subscription.

For the record: on the walls of the town hall in Mulhouse is suspended the "stone talkative." A chain is riveted in the earlobes like a pendant. It was an instrument of torture: the klupperstei [sic, "Klapperstein"]. The good burghers of the city always managed in case of crime for the guilty one to go get hanged elsewhere, no fault was found to be more serious than slander. Whoever was convinced saw himself condemned to wear the stone to his neck through the streets of the city while riding a donkey backwards.

A little more to the north, in Ensisheim (on BAVIC) the parish church has long owned a 140 kg meteorite that fell nearby on November 7, 1492.

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[Ref. sar1:] MAGAZINE "SCIENCE ET AVENIR":

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Photographs of the alleged UFO landing area, near Mulhouse.

Date: June 25, 1971. Time: 11 p.m.

Two witnesses, who were returning to Mulhouse by a path that descends from a hill overlooking the city, saw a "light" in the sky, which approaching them, soon appearing to them as a disc.

It stabilized at a height of fifteen meters above a meadow located 25 m only from the witnesses, who evaluated the diameter of the object to a little less than 10 meters.

Then the disc, which seemed to turn on itself, slowly descended to the ground, increasing its brightness.

A minute and a half later, it rose and then went horizontally very quickly.

This type of testimony, considered in isolation, would be in no way conclusive of the UFO's reality, if it did not include ground marks discovered the next day, at the location of the alleged landing, by the alerted investigators.

These marks may not have been made by any known craft and any possibility of fraudulent manufacture by witnesses is also excluded.

The grass (mainly alfalfa) is scorched (but not burned) on a circumference of 6.20 m in diameter, inside which there is a kind of capital H of 2.20 m on one side.

Other smaller traces, 30 cm in diameter, form an eccentric isosceles triangle.

The grass is flattened at the place of all these marks.

(L.D.L.N. document)

[Ref. hdt1:] "HENRY DURRANT":

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COMMENTS.

- These traces, recorded and photographed, are well connected to a UFO sighting by the testimony of two young people who are obviously not the authors of those. The index of strangeness of their testimony, separate but concurring, is extremely high and perfectly supports the sincerity of their statements.

- The circular traces, 30 cm in diameter, arranged in a triangle, are making one think of a contact to the ground by a tripod landing gear system; but in this case the circular trace of 6.20 m in diameter would be redundant. Perhaps there was an approach maneuver with palps and an actual landing. Anyway, how could these traces be explained other than through the intervention of a UFO.

- F. Lagarde noted that Mulhouse is located on a geological fault. The activity of this UFO therefore would attach to the theory of this researcher, the study of the seismic activity of the earth by UFOs. The Incident is also on the line Southend (England) to Po di Gnocca (Italy) of 1100 km indicated by Aimé Michel; the observation could therefore be inserted, possibly in Michel's orthoteny, certainly in the Dohmen theory of the UFO traffic lanes. You may find about these theories in the File IX, "Coincidences".

- Finally, the "H" trace left in the center of the circle vaguely recall the sign that the UFOs observed in Spain on 6 February 1966 in Aluche were showing, on June 1, 1967 in San Jose de Valderas, although this sign looks more like the capital letter of the Cyrillic alphabet corresponding to the "J" in the Latin alphabet (LDLN Document).

We wish to thank most sincerely the direction of the Lumières Dans La Nuit for their fraternal cooperation so amiable and efficient.

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

T 25061971 1 p.m. Mulhouse Riedisheim 68400 C5.

WITNESSES. Joël Scheweitzer [sic, "Schweitzer"] and his friend Mr. (XX).

OBSERVATION. A disc, like a a spherical cap 8 m in diameter and 2 cm high. It has a white light at its top.

EVENTS. The night is quite dark. Joel Scheweitzer [sic] and his fellow come back down from a hill peaking at 283 meters, from where one oversees Mulhouse. The descent is quite steep toward the railroad tracks, the two young people borrow a path beside a meadow basin surrounded by newer dominant homes except on the east side where fields extend to the vast forest of the Hardt. Suddenly, they see far to the NE a light comparable to that produced by a flashlight. It is very bright and approaches giving the impression of swirling. They compare it to an electronic flashlight.

It then takes the form of a disc having a planar face and the other convex. It moves perpendicular to its base in the direction of its path. It is at the vertical of the meadow, and at an altitude of about 15 m. At this point, it stops its advance and stays put for 2 to 3 seconds, its brightness seems to dim. The meadow is lit under the machine and witnesses fail to distinguish the grass of the meadow.

During this hovering, it performs a reversal: the flat face is inclined to turn to the ground. It is then in the form of a spherical segment and gives the impression of turning on itself very quickly, like a top. The white light that overcomes it gives a flashing appearance. After a few seconds of stop the object slowly descends vertically to the ground, without noise.

The two friends sit during their observation and distinguish no particular movement during the descent. At no time do they hear barking of neighborhood dogs. The object appears to have landed, or stands close to the ground.

It does not move at all and witnesses perceive a gray area below where it is impossible to distinguish anything. The surroundings are illuminated. After having been parked for a minute, the craft rises again upright slowly, resumes for a moment the position it had before the descent, 15 m above the ground, the plane face facing the ground. It starts to swirl and slowly goes away. Finally a last movement, it goes away at a very high speed, almost horizontal, and vanishes into the night.

The next day, the two witnesses discovered traces on the grass mown several days ago. On the traces, the grass had a curious appearance, like blackened without being burned by a heat source, ie without being consumed, maintaining its grass appearance. First of all, one sees a circle of 6.20 meters in diameter, three circular traces of 30 cm diameter (one in the circle and the other two at 5.50 m apart) arranged in a triangle, and finally a small hole square in the earth. In the central part of the circle, one can see very well drawn, like a kind of capital H letter: the height of the branches of the H is 2.20 m and the spacing of the same size. The 30 cm traces, like the H, are formed by the crushed grass, flattened and lying almost at ground level. The three rounds are separated by 4.2 and 5.5 meters. The traces still appear significantly in September 1971. The H is sharp in the photos.

SOURCES. L.D.L.N., No. 117, p. 10-11 (Mr J.-P. Schirsch investigation).

[Ref. mft1:] "FRANCAT" - MICHEL FIGUET:

CASE NR CLASSIFICATION DATE TIME PLACE ZIP CODE CREDIBILITY SOURCES
439 CE2 06/25/1971 23:00 Mulhouse-Riedisheim 68400 C5 NI (OVNI: p. 360)

[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

These two authors wrote that in "Mulhouse, June 25, 1971, the trace was made of soot."

[Ref. rpi1:] ROBERTO PINOTTI:

Finally, on June 25, 1971, in the vicinity of the Alsatian town of Mulhouse (Upper Rhine), the landing of a UFO, spotted by several witnesses, would have occurred. Burnt grass, a kind of triangle and a distinct sign similar to a kind of capital "H" (which so much evokes the "seal" of Ummo) were the obvious traces that the mysterious object would have left on the ground.

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1971, 25 juin

FRANCE, Mulhouse-Riedisheim (Haut-Rhin)

Witnesses: Joël Scheweitzer [sic] and a friend. Weather: fairly dark night, very cloudy after thunderstorm. Location: meadow on the edge of a path descending a hill (283 m) overlooking Mulhouse. Object: spherical, shining like polished metal, equipped with a kind of powerful, white, tilting headlight at its upper part. Diameter estimated at around 8 m, height around 2 m. The two witnesses saw to the NE a very white light, like a flash, which was heading towards them. As it approached, it took the shape of a rapidly spinning disc. One face was flat and vertical in relation to the direction, the other curved. The object stopped above the meadow, at 15 m altitude for two to three seconds. Its luminosity then weakens but still made it possible to see the grass. Its flat face tilted parallel to the ground, and the headlight above flashed. Stopping to turn, the object then descended towards the ground; very slowly, still silently, for three or four seconds. It was 25 m from the witnesses. It seemed to be on the ground for a minute and a half. Then it rose vertically to 15 m above the ground, started to spin again and slowly moved away. Finally, suddenly, it took off at very high speed without progressive acceleration. The next day the witnesses found very visible traces. Alfalfa and grass mowed for a few days, only 5 to 10 cm high, the ground was dry. A large circle 6.20 m in diameter was found. In its center a capital H with branches 2.20 m long separated by 2.20 m. Three circular traces 30 cm in diameter arranged in an off-center isosceles triangle, a small hole with a square section. Inside the big circle, on the capital H, on the three circular traces, the grass was lying, flattened, crushed. (Henry DURRANT: Le dossier des OVNI" - Laffont 1973, p. 265 to 267)

##

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:

9780: 1971/06/25 23:00 2 7:20:00 E 47:44:00 N 3333 WEU FRN HRH 7:7

MULHOUSE,FR:SCR TILTS AWAY/15M alt:LVLS OFF:LITES GND:CIRC+H TRC/GND:/r30p360

Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 117 : RESIDENT'L 9781: 1971/06/26 23:00 15 3:46:20 W 37:12:00 N 3333 WEU SPN GRN 5:7

[Ref. uwb2:] "UFOWEB" WEBSITE:

CITIES DEPT LATITUDES LONGITUDES YEARS
Mulhouse 68 47.750 7.333 1971

[Ref. fgi1:] FRANCIS GATTI:

TESTIMONY # 30

Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) 25 Jun 1971 at 23 p.m.. Joël Schweitzer and his friend

"We saw a polished metal spherical cap that looked like a disk rapidly rotating on itself. It remained stationary at fifteen meters above the ground for two minutes slowing its speed. Then it began to turn on itself and went away."

The observation was made from a distance of 25 m.

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

Riedisheim (68) on June 25, 1971

General features

Num Base: 221
Department: Haut Rhin (68)
Place of observation: Riedisheim
Latitude: 47.75
Longitude: +7.366
Date of observation: June 25, 1971
Hour: 23:00 hours
Duration (HH:MM:SS): N.C.
Weather: Cloudy sky low altitude
Type of observation: Visual : close
Nbr of witness(es): 2
Official investigation: No

Features of the object

Nbr of object: 1
Type of object: Half sphere
Size: 5 to 10 meters
Color: Metallic (silver,)
Luminosity: Brilliant
Visual characteristics: No indication
Speed: not defined
Movement/Displacement: Landing then take off
Object on the ground: Yes
Instantaneous disappearance: No

Type of effects noted

Physical effects: Trace on the ground,

Observation

Two witnesses, by a rather dark night, very cloudy after storm saw at a meadow beside a path down a hill (283 m) overlooking Mulhouse. [sic] A spherical cap object, bright like polished metal, equipped with a kind of powerful beacon, white, tilted at the top. Diameter estimated at about 8 m, height 2 m. Here is the testimony: Both witnesses saw in the NE, a very white light, flashlight type, coming toward them. By approaching it took the form of a disk rapidly rotating on itself. One side was flat, and vertical to the direction of movement, the other convex. The object stopped above the meadow, 15 meters, for two to three seconds. Its brightness then weakened but still allowed to see the grass. Its flat face bent parallel to the ground and above the flashing headlight. Stopping rotating, then the object went down to the ground, very slowly, always silently for three to four seconds, it was 25 m from the witnesses. It seemed set on the ground and stayed there for a minute and a half. Then it rose vertically, slowly, up to 15 m above the ground, began to turn on itself and slowly went away; Finally, suddenly, it went away at great speed, without gradual acceleration. The witnesses came back the next day and found very visible traces. Alfalfa and grass, mowed several days ago, having only 5 to 10 cm in height, the ground being dry. One noted a large circle of 6.20 m diameter; in its center a capital "H" with branches of 2.20 m long spaced by 2.20m; three circular indentations 30 cm in diameter set in eccentric isosceles triangle; a small square hole. Inside the large circle, the grass was blackened but not burned. On the large circle, the capital "H", the three circular marks, the grass lay flattened, crushed.

Sources

Le dossier des OVNI by Durrand [sic, "Durrant"] Henry ** Laffont 1973

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The photograph of the trace

[Ref. nos1:] NOUFORS:

This Canadian ufology website published one of the photographs of the alleged UFO trace, with this caption:

"Mulhouse-Riedisheim, France
On June 25, 1971"

[Ref. isu1:] "ISUNDGAU" BLOG:

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

Observation on Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, on June 25, 1971 at 11 p.m.. Mister Joël S. and one of his friends: "We saw a spherical dome in polished metal that resembled a disc rotating fast on itself. It hovered at fifteen meters from the ground slowing down its rotation speed. Then it rotated on itself again and went away." The observation was made from a distance of 25 meters.

There is no source reference for this case, cited among other cases. There is simply, at the end of the article, a series of links to several ufology websites and web pages, including a link to the old URL of the home page of my own website.

[Ref. cvn2:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:

Former journalist Christian Valentin published in 2012 a very interesting book tracing the history of sightings of UFOs and other flying saucers in Alsace, from the origins until 1980.

In this book, he tells that on June 25, 1971, in Riedisheim, there was a landing that received wide media coverage, more important at the national level than the local level. The case has been cited in several ufology books such as Figuet and Ruchon [fru1].

Christian Valentin remembers having personally learned of the observation at the time thanks to the photo of the landing traces published in the magazine "Science et Avenir" in September 1972. He notes, however, that all these sources were based on the investigation report by Jean-Pierre Schirch published in "Lumières Dans La Nuit" [ldl1] No. 117 in April 1972 [ldl1], which he reproduces in his book.

Christian Valentin then gives the content of his interview of Wednesday, November 19, 2008 with "J.-S.":

The latter indicates that the exercise of memory is perilous 37 years after the events, which were extraordinary to say the least. He was then 18 years old and remembers what was a fascinating experience.

He indicates that the object came from the direction of the PSA ["Peugeot"] factory in the north-east, and that it first went down to the building of the Sainte-Ursule girls' school before approaching their location, while continuing its descent to the ground. He and his comrade were about thirty meters from where the craft seemed to have landed.

He remembers the intermittent presence of a blinding light that was like a kind of beacon. Then the craft rose vertically, then spun like an arrow to the northwest. J.-S. is formal: it went to the southwest when it departed. The landing was about 200 meters from St. Ursule and about 200 meters south of the railway.

The next day, he went back to the scene place and then saw the ground traces at the observation site. He remembers the circle and the recesses that were about the size of a large plate, but not the H-shaped trace. He indicates that the pictures of the place were taken later, at the beginning of the school year.

He does not remember how the sighting became known to the magazine ["Lumières Dans La Nuit" [ldl1]], he remembers that the sighting was published in a book at the time, but he had not talked much about it "because of people's reaction."

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

24 June 1971 23:00

Mulhouse, Alsace, France

At 11:00 p.m. in Mulhouse, Haut-Rhine, France a disc-shaped object was seen tilting in the sky at 15 meters altitude above a residential neighborhood.

It leveled off, then lights were seen upon the ground. At the site a depressed circle and ground marks were found.

Hynek rating: NO

The sources are not indicated.

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

25 June 1971 23:00

Mulhouse, Alsace, France

Disc tilts at 15m altitude, levels off, lights upon ground. Depressed circle and ground marks.

An object was observed and photographed. Occupants of the craft were seen. Ground traces were found. One disc, about 40 feet across, was observed by one witness in a residential area for two minutes.

Hynek rating: CE2

Vallee rating: CE2

The sources are indicated as: "Phillips, Ted R., Ted Phillips investigation files; Phillips, Ted R., Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, Chicago, 1975; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."

[Ref. spa4:] UFOLOGY GROUP "SPICA":

City Date and hour of observation General shape
Identification
General color
Hypothesis
Conclusion
RIEDISHEIM Friday 25 June 1971 at 11:00 p.m. saucer, rugby ball (3D)
Unidentified
grey or metallic
None
Unsolved -lack of info

[Ref. ubk3:] "UFODATENBANK":

Case ID19710624
Global case number:19710624-0003-UDB
Date of observation (Day)24
Date of observation (Month)6
Date of observation(Year)1971
Hour of observation23.00
Zip Code
Place of observationMulhouse
County
Federal state
CountryFrance
Witnesses
Hynek ClassificationCE II
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=Mulhouse,France
Link to the observationhttp://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=72e8685a-4762-4a98-bfb4-434eb3004a27
Summary for guestsThe facts and possibly other documents will be published progressively. We thank you for your patience.
Preview image

This database recorded the same case twice:

Case ID19700526
Global case number:19700526-0002-UDB
Date of observation (Day)26
Date of observation (Month)5
Date of observation(Year)1970
Hour of observation23.45
Zip Code
Place of observationMulhouse
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=Mulhouse,France
Link to the observationhttp://www.ufo-db.com/WfrmSetupSichtung.aspx?uid_Sichtung=4cbdc237-5ad8-4ee1-8903-2db9f0b2a315
Summary for guestsThe facts and possibly other documents will be published progressively. We thank you for your patience.
Preview image

[Ref. jmd1:] JOEL MESNARD:

This ufologist indicates that an example of "very ambiguous demonstration" is found in a series of events that took place in Riedisheim, in the Haut-Rhin, on June 25, 1971, and immediately thereafter. On the evening of the 25th, around 11 pm, JS, 18, and a comrade who wished to remain anonymous, came down from a hill overlooking Mulhouse, when they saw a flying object in the shape of a spherical cap about 8 m in diameter and 2 m high. This craft gave the impression of turning very quickly around its axis, like a top.

It emitted a white light that lit the meadow grass around it, and it had a light source at its summit. It descended vertically smoothly and landed in the grass, or hovered a few inches above the ground. It could not be a helicopter, since the two witnesses, only 25 or 30 meters away from the thing, did not hear any noise coming from it.

At the end of about a minute and a half, the object rose, moved away at a very high speed, and disappeared, still in total silence.

The next day, JS and his comrade returned to the spot and found the presence of traces: a crown of 6.20 m in diameter and three discs of 30 cm diameter forming an almost isosceles triangle, with a peak inside of the crown and the other two outside.

These traces were formed by a blackening and flattening of the grass.

In the investigation report of Jean-Pierre Schirch, published in LDLN 117 in April 1972, there is also mention of an H whose center coincides with that of the crown, whose three bars are 2.20 m long.

However, Christian Valentin, who quotes this case in his beautiful book "Mythes et Réalités des Phénomènes Aérien Non Identifiés" ["Myths and Realities of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena"] states that he spoke with JS in December 2008, and that he does not remember to have observed the day after the observation, the H in the crown.

But the problem is that in a photo taken a few weeks later, "towards the start of the school year", (certainly after March or April 1972), we can perfectly distinguish the crown and the H, where the grass does not appear blackened, but on the contrary, bleached, this drawing is the conventional symbol of a helicopter landing area.

Joël Mesnard wonders what could have happened, and how to understand this story that leaves a trace indicating an area for helicopters?

Discussion:

Map.

The sign of the planet "Ummo":

Let's settle this story down immediately: the drawing of the trace is not the Ummo sign. The Ummo sign is not an "H", and it is not inside a circle. The Ummo sign comes from proven fake photographs, admitted fakes by the two essential "witnesses" Pena and Ortuno - like the whole Ummo affair - of an alleged flying saucer that would have landed near Madrid in 1966. Here is the "sign of Ummo" of that saucer:

Scan.

We see that the "resemblance" looks like wishful thinking of Ummo buffs.

Helicopter landing site:

It is clear that the circle and its "H" resemble the marking of a helicopter permanent or temporary landing area:

Helicopter landing spot.

Helicopter landing spot.

It turns out that I spent my childhood and youth in Riedisheim, about 2 km from the place of the alleged landing, that I knew this place throughout these years. The place has never been a heliport as such. There is no hospital or military ground there. This obviously does not exclude that this had been the case provisionally. If one wants to argue that the case was a hoax, one could imagine that the witnesses found a helicopter landing area marking there, did not know what it was, and then invented a story of a saucer. It's not impossible, but nothing proves it is so, so far.

More strangely, there is this information by Christian Valentin that the main witness did not remember in 2008 the presence of the "H". It is however very visible on the photos. Bad witness memory? Or an addition of the "H" by jokers between the moment of the discovery of the trace and that of the taking of the photographs?

In my summary, I mentioned the problem of the light color of the trace that should have been dark colored. If one believes Barthel and Brucker who, without them telling us where this came from - its very usual to them to do so - they ensure that the trace was "soot" - so dark, or black. It thus seems that the trace has been altered. I believe that it was not impossible that the investigators made the trace more visible, in order to mark the contours on their photos, by using plaster or any other white powder. But that remains a pure conjecture.

The place:

It is obviously not "Mulhouse", but Riedisheim, next to Mulhouse.

The locals, like me, know that the hill (yellow circle) is called "Entremont" since at least the mid 70's. There are several residences there. I know where the famous meadow is, but I must say that it is no longer a meadow, houses have been built there since, in addition to the "recent houses" evoked by Mr. Schirch. The place is between the current Naegeleberg Street and Jonquilles Street (red circle).

Map.

On this larger view, I noted "PSA" to indicate the Peugeot plant. The object reportedly came from that direction. The fence of the plant the closest to the landing spot is at 3 km.

Map.

Evaluation:

Unidentified, extraterrestrial craft or hoax.

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 January 28, 2018 Creation, [ldl1], [sar1], [hdt1], [fru1], [bb1], [mft1], [uwb2], [lcn1], [nos1], [isu1], [uda1], [uda2], [cvn2], [jmd1], [ubk3].
1.0 Patrick Gross January 28, 2018 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross May 22, 2021 Addition [lhh1].
1.2 Patrick Gross January 15, 2023 Addition [goe1].

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