ALSACAT:

IN ALSACE ...

This is perhaps a serious testimony about UFOs, these unidentified and so mysterious flying objects. Eleven people observed in the sky of Bantzenheim, between 0:40 and 0:55, in the night of Friday to Saturday a mysterious craft moving at approximately 400 m of them, and between 150 and 200 m of altitude. These eleven people, from four different families, are apparently not storytellers. It all started when Isabelle, Christian Lemoine's fiancée, got out of their caravan to take the key they had left on the door.

Christian, 21, who is a locksmith, says: "I heard Isabelle scream, call me. I went out in my pajamas. Isabelle was shaking. I then saw a big ball of light, 400 m in front of us in the direction of Mulhouse (south-west direction), above the forest, close enough to the electricity pylons. The craft was huge, like a house, full of red and orange lights, as if there were inside a game of ice. So I said to myself that it is a saucer. At one point the craft seemed to descend, then it went up and took the shape of a cigar, with very clear lines. Two or three minutes later, we saw the mysterious craft take the shape of a half-sphere, the base turned towards the sky, still with perfectly delimited contours, and with brighter red color."

Isabelle and Christian then alerted the other members of the Lemoine family, Christian's brothers and sisters who were with their friends inside the house. "Even the cat had followed us, he was afraid," Christian adds. They were thus eleven people to see this saucer which looked like a cup and which progressed gradually in the sky. "Beams left vertically from the half-ball, lighting the sky. It was as if there had been very powerful projectors in the craft," the other witnesses confirm.

Michel Lemoine, 23, and his friend Serge Benoit rushed into the car, and all lights out, headed towards the craft. "It looked like it was going away from us," says Michel. Then the UFO changed shape once again, taking that of a triangle that was narrowing, point turned towards the sky. It was in this final metamorphosis that the craft gradually disappeared, at a steady speed in the sky. Without leaving a trail, and without the slightest noise.

"The whole time we saw this saucer, the whole sky was lit up. When it had disappeared, it was pitch black. In any case, it couldn't have been a plane, we would have heard it" concludes Christian. Who adds: "Besides, a good time later, we heard a plane pass (which was checked to be the Mulhouse Strasbourg postal plane).

The fact remains that this appearance cannot be doubted. At the Colmar - Meyenheim air base, it was reported that nothing was detected, but also that no military aircraft was flying in the area at this time. And several people from the region - including Christian and Michel Lemoine, but also others - have already witnessed such phenomena. "But never so clearly" says Michel. As for their parents, they regrets not having been awakened. And Christian Lemoine still bites hhis fingers: he had, that night, no film in his camera.

Jean-Marie STOERCKEL

NOVEMBER 19, 1977. BANTZENHEIM (Haut Rhin)

Around 12:40 a.m., Christian Lemoine and his fiancée saw 400 m from them and 150 or 200 m above sea level, a huge ball of light like a house, with red and orange lights. The object while moving took the shape of a cigar successively, then 3 minutes after that of a hemisphere. The witnesses then alerted the other members of the family, so that 11 people were able see this saucer in the shape of a cup from which beams left vertically. Then the craft having taken the shape of a triangle, gradually disappeared from the sight of the witnesses.

("Alsace" for 11/20/77)

Observation
in Bantzenheim
(Haut-Rhin)

in the night
from November 18 to 19, 1977

Investigation by: M. Pernot in Rixheim
M. Journot in Katzenthal

LOCATION:

North-West exit of BANTZENHEIM (Haut Rhin) near the D.4 Bis road

Position of BANTZENHEIM: 60 ° North-East of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), map used I.G.N. 1/50 000th Mulhouse XXXVII-20.

METEOROLOGY:

Dark sky no stars - no rain - very cold moderate wind - Temperature between + 3°C and + 5°C. New moon first quarter East position.

WITNESSES:

Mr Christian LEMOINE 21 years old, Locksmith
Miss Isabelle WASSMER 18 years old, Dressmaker
Mr Michel LEMOINE 23 years old, Locksmith
Mr Alain LEMOINE 15 years old, Student
Miss Mireille LEMOINE 20 years old, Worker
Miss Brigitte LEMOINE 18 years old, Worker
Miss Patricia LEMOINE 16 years old, Student
Miss Patricia KESSLER 19 years old, Secretary
Mr Serge BENOIT 24 years old, Boilermaker
Mr Jérôme LITZLER 21 years old, Butcher

Investigation following the article in the local press relating the sighting.

Date of sighting: Night of November 18 to 19, 1977.

Duration of observation: 25 minutes

Report by Mr. Christian LEMOINE

We all returned from a "Café" located in BANTZENHElM, where we often meet among young people from the village. It was a quarter to midnight. I stay with my fiancée Miss Isabelle WASSMER in a caravan located in a meadow not far from my parents' house. My brothers and sisters and friends were keen to continue their evening at my parents' house.

We had gone back to the caravan. (It is located near the D.4 bis 60° N.E). We stayed a while to discuss, then going to bed, I noticed that the key to the caravan was still on the door. I asked Isabelle, who was not yet in bed, to pick it up outside. As soon as she left, I heard Isabelle cry out to me: "Christian, come see, come see!" I got up, it was 12.40 a.m. My fiancee was shaking.

At this moment Isabelle WASSMER talks.

"There was in the sky in the direction of the wood, above the power line a huge ball, as big as a house, much bigger than the moon, incomparable with it. Its color was red orange, very bright, luminous, round. The sky was black, no stars. This ball did not move, what impressed me the most, was the size!".

Mr. Christian LEMOINE speaks again.

"That's when I appeared. Being in my pajamas, I looked at it through the half-open door of the caravan. This ball didn't stay 5 minutes. Wou would have said that it separated into three parts. The top and bottom caps were gone. All that remained was the center that looked like an orange-red cigar. Below, a flash-colored point of light came out. Size 10 cm with outstretched arm).

Then it grew up. It enlarged as if it was coming at me. At the same time the "cigar" has disappeared. As this point (flash) approached, we could make out a cup that had taken on the orange-red color. Immediately we went, Isabelle and I to my parents, 50 meters away, to warn them.

Less than 10 minutes elapsed from the caravan to thehouse. We informed my two brothers, my two future brothers-in-law, my three sisters as well as a sister-in-law who were chatting together in the kitchen. (The latter is oriented due West). The shutters were closed. We all went out to see.

Beams of light much darker than the orange-red color of this mug, starting from the top of the mug, lit up. The sky was dark, slightly cloudy. The beams were very thick, remaining fixed, but these light beams were crossed. My brother Michel, as well as my brother-in-law, Mr. Serge BENOIT took the car to have a closer look on the road. During this time, we stayed on the doorstep of the house. When my brother and brother-in-law entered the road (D.4 bis), the cup changed into a triangle, point turned in the direction of OTTMARSHEIM (direction 240° West). The rest of the cup is gone. On the road, at the level of the caravan, my brother Michel turned off the main headlights beam of the car, while continuing to drive. At this moment as if the triangle had seen this maneuver, or as if it was moving away, it decreased at a rapid speed. No noise during the whole observation, it was silent. The triangle has literally melted, to become a small dot still orange-red. At the time of the appearance of the triangle no clouds were around. This dot went towards Mulhouse (south-west direction). At that moment, my young brother Alain, 15, told me: "Look at your cat it is here!". I replied: "It is not true, it stayed in the trailer". Sure enough, it was near me.

He had never followed me before, when I went to my parents' house, or anywhere else. Yet I had hurried to close the caravan. This is the first time it followed us like this. We have three dogs, a big dog, a poodle and a little mongrel. Usually in the evenings we hear them barking. That evening, not one of them barked, even when Michel and Serge came home. It was approximately 1:05 a.m. When the dot disappeared, about 1 minute after Michel and Serge returned, the sky was still lit for a little while, but no moon. Then the clarity disappeared about 1 minute later and the sky went dark again. We then waited again in the kitchen where I had opened the shutters. We all watched, in turn, to no avail. We went to bed around 2:30 a.m. on November 19, 1977."

On the day of this investigation (Monday, November 21, 1977), Madame LEMOINE, Christian's mother was present. Being in bed at the time of the observation her children did not wake her up. During the hearing, here is what she told me: "At 10 p.m., when my son Christian left, our television set failed. We had sound, but the image was scrambled for a good while, half an hour. At 11 p.m. at RUMERSHEIM LE HAUT (3 km away) same phenomenon on television sets (sound, but blurred image)."

The investigator lives in RIXHEIM (13 km as the crow flies from BANTZENHEIM). That evening, being at home watching the broadcasts, no failure occurred during the whole evening at RIXHEIM.

On February 25, 1978, we went to Madame LEMOINE's in BANTZENHEIM. Michel, Christian's brother was present. He remembers this observation very well and on this date he has nothing to change in his brother's story. Except that he specifies a point. Being on the road with his brother-in-law Serge, he specifies that by looking at the cup-shaped object which was orange-red in color, it burned his eyes, as if the craft itself was burning. He couldn't constantly stare at this object, it hurt his eyes. (Note that Michel has a visual acuity of 10/10 and he does not wear glasses). Michel LEMOINE has never read anything about the phenomenon, as have all his family. He is passionate about only one thing: insects and books on animal life. He told us on February 25, 1978, that he had previously been a witness to three sightings in the same sector and that he had never shared them with his entourage for fear of ridicule vis-à-vis people from the village. Other people from BANTZENHEIM confessed to the LEMOINE family to have observed the same phenomenon on the night of November 18 to 19, 1977. These people did not want to make themselves known and do not want to say anything.

(A Gendarmerie report has been written by the OTTMARSHEIM Gendarmerie Brigade)

Ref. F/00/68/77 11 17 {01) IQ: 5 IE: 0,1,1,1,0 (3)

On Saturday November 17, at 00:40 a.m. (UTC: 11.40 p.m.), a couple staying in a caravan in Bantzenheim (68) were intrigued by a celestial phenomenon to the west in the direction of the Bois de la Hardt. A huge, very bright red-orange ball is stationary in the distance. It seems to separate into 3 which has become a horizontal orange cigar, the phenomenon lets out a dot of light which grows as it approaches. The cigar disappears. The dot turns into a red-orange "cup". The young people run to look for 8 other witnesses of the family. All observe the phenomenon illuminating the sky by crossed beams upwards and starting from the top of "the cup". The phenomenon is transformed again, into a triangle this time, which literally "melts" to become an orange dot. The phenomenon disappears towards Mulhouse (SW) after 25 minutes of total observation.

Explanation: mistake with the moon: Monnerie "Le Naufrage des E. T." p.159-1979- N.E.R. publishers

Source: J.Journot and M. Pernot investigation (LDLN nr 180 p. 27/29), "L'Alsace" for 11/20/77 (LDLN nr 172), "UFOLOGIA" nr 13 p. 7.

12881: 1977/11/19 00:40 25 7:31:40 E 47:49:40 N 3333 WEU FRN HRH 7:9

BANTZENHEIM,FR:10 SEP.OBS:15M BALL/HIV LINES:SPLITS:SHOOTS RAYS:TURNS to TRNGL

Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 180 : RESIDENT'L

19 November 1977 00:40

Bantzenheim, Alsace, France

15m diameter ball of light near high voltage power lines, splits in two, shoots rays, turns into triangle.

An unusual object was sighted by multiple witnesses, that had unconventional appearance and aerobatic performance. One shifting-shape object, about 80 feet across, was observed by ten witnesses at an electric plant for over 25 minutes.

Hynek rating: NL

Vallee rating: MA1

Bantzenheim (68)

Crossing of the D4bis (rue de Battenheim) and the railway + crossing of rue de la Hardt and rue des Fleurs.

November 19, 1977, 0:40 a.m.. Moon at 1,8° elevation, azimut 259°. Next day after Fourth Quarter, age of the Moon 7,7 dayss.

Sources:

• case #149 Eric Maillot list
• Le naufrage des extraterrestres by Michel Monnerie. Page 159.
• Lumières dans la Nuit #180, pages 27 to 29.
• Lumières dans la Nuit #172, page 32.
• L'Alsace for November 20, 1977. Not available to me.
• Ufologia #13, page 7. Not available to me.
• CNEGU Catalogue (a big thank you to Raoul Robé). The case is dated November 17 there (?)

Notes:

• The case is long explained as a misunderstanding with the Moon (Michel Monnerie). A SAROS reconstitution is not absolutely necessary, but I still retained this case partly because it has all the necessary information (exact location, description of the witnesses), and secondly by the "extraordinary" character of the observation.
• the observation takes place at the home of the witnesses, it will be necessary to have the owners permission to investigate on the spot.
• from what I can see on Google Maps and Street View, the placeschanged very little since 1977. The high-voltage line that serves as a benchmark is even still present !
• very interesting detail: the observation of Bantzenheim takes place almost simultaneously with that of Montmorillon (see next case), with the same overall description of the phenomenon !

Dates of reconstitution considered:

• double SAROS -1 : Sunday December 8, 2013, at 11:15 p.m..
  Moon at 1,7° of angular height, azimut 260°. Eve of First Quarter, age of the Moon 5,9 days.
• double SAROS : Tuesday, December 10,2013, at 0:25.
  Moon at 1,9° of angular height, azimut 267°. First Quarter, age of the Moon 7 days.