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 Saint-Pierre, on August 12, 1973:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1973-08-12-SAINTPIERRE-1

Summary:

Ufologist and journalist Charles Garreau reported in his 1974 book about flying saucers, that on August 12, 1973, at about 11 p.m. in St. Pierre in the Haut-Rhin - actually in the Bas-Rhin - two residents attended the maneuvers of a bright object.

The object moved horizontally, then vertically, then horizontally again, doing this three times, and it "disappeared" after its last climb.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	August 12, 1973
Time:	~11:00 p.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1974
Reporting delay:	Day, 1 year.

Geographical data:

Department:	Bas-Rhin
City:	Saint-Pierre
Place:	Not reported, UFO in the sky.
Latitude:	48.383
Longitude:	7.472
Uncertainty radius:	2 km

Witnesses data:

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

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Ufology book by Charles Garreau.
Type of location:	Not reported, UFO in the sky.
Visibility conditions:	Night
UFO observed:	Yes
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	Yes
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:	Unidentified but totally insufficient information.

Sources:

[Ref. cgu1:] CHARLES GARREAU:

- On August 12 [, 1973], in Saint-Pierre (Haut-Rhin) two people attended, about 23 hours, the moves of a luminous object. It moves horizontally, then vertically, then horizontally again, and this it does three times. It disappears after the last climb.

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1973, August 12

France, Saint Pierre (Haut Rhin)

Two inhabitants witness around 11 p.m. the moves of a luminous object. It moves horizontally, then vertically, then horizontally again, and this three times. It disappears after his last ascent. (Charles GARREAU: "Alerte dans le ciel: le dossier des enlèvements" Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1981, p.249)

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

St Pierre (67) on 12 August 1973

General features

Num Base:	858
Departement:	Bas Rhin (67)
Place of observation:	St Pierre
Latitude:	48.383
Longitude:	+7.466
Date of observation:	12 August 1973
Hour:	23:00 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:	Not-defined
Size:	Not specified
Color:	not defined
Luminosity:	Brillant
Visual characteristics:	No indication
Speed:	not defined
Movement/Displacement:	Various maneuvers
Object on the ground:	No
Instantaneous disappearance:	No

Observation

Two residents watch the operations of a luminous object. The latter moves horizontally, then vertically, then again horizontally, and this; three times. It disappears after its last ascent.

Sources

Soucoupes volantes, 25 ans d'enquêtes by Garreau Charles ** Mame

[Ref. tae1:] "LA TAVERNE DE L'ETRANGE" WEBSITE:

On August 12, [1973], in Saint-Pierre (Haut-Rhin)

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

City	Date and hour of observation	General shape Identification	General color Hypothesis	Conclusion
SAINT-PIERRE	Sunday 12 August 1973 11:00 p.m.	information not communicated Unidentified	information not communicated None	Unsolved -lack of info

Discussion:

As often in the books by Charles Garreau, there is no source reference, and certainly not enough information to try any explanation.

Evaluation:

Unidentified, but totally insufficient information.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[cgu1] * "Soucoupes Volantes - 25 Ans d'Enquêtes", book by Charles Garreau, Mame publishers, France, page 88, 1974.
[goe1] * "Chronologie OVNI", catalogue by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, was on the Web circa 1999.
[lcn1] * "St Pierre (67) on 12 August 1973", case record by Luc Chastan, on his ufology website Base OVNI France, France, circa 2004, at http://baseovnifrance.free.fr/listgen.php?typlist=1&page=0&numobs=858
[tae1] * "Le temps des satellites et des ovnis, article on the La Taverne de l'Etrange website, France, December 15, 2007, at http://www.taverne-etrange.com/ovnis-satellites/ovnis-satellites,r81549.html
[spa1] * "DEPARTEMENT 67 - BAS-RHIN", listing of UFO sighting reports by the Alsatian ufology group SPICA, Alsace, France, not dated, found in May 2015, at http://www.spica.org/Page_Listing_67.htm

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	February 29, 2016	Creation, [cgu1], [lcn1], [tae1], [spa1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	February 29, 2016	First published.
1.1	Patrick Gross	January 18, 2023	Addition [goe1].

This page was last updated on January 18, 2023.