The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Tagnon.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In 2002, the "skeptical" ufologist Eric Maillot mentioned the case of October 3, 1954, in Tagnon in the Ardennes as coming from Jean-Michel Ligeron's book on UFOs in the Ardennes of 1981, indicating that the phenomenon was an orange oval going South-West in the evening, that the case is "very brief" and that the explanations could be a moonset or the known meteor of 08:47 p.m. going from North-East to South-West.
According to an article in the regional newspaper L'Ardennais for October 3, 2004, quoted by the ufology group CNEGU in their magazine Les Mystères de l'Est #10 of 2005, on October 3, 1954 at 9 p.m., an "orange luminous object" described as "oval" or "elongated" depending on the position of the witnesses, was observed in Tagnon in the Ardennes department.
In 2025, I was able to find the article from the newspaper L'Ardennais dated October 3, 2004, which reported that "Sunday evening"—indeed, October 3, 1954—several residents of Tagnon "reportedly saw a luminous, orange-colored object moving through the sky in the southwest direction" from Tagnon. The same phenomenon "was also reportedly observed by several motorists who were driving at that exact moment on Route Nationale 51."
The newspaper notes that depending on "the location or more precisely the position of the observers relative to this mysterious craft, it appeared in different shapes: oval to some, elongated like a cigar to others."
Finally, the newspaper wonders whether this phenomenon corresponds to the so-called "flying cigars."
[Ref. ads1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":
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After a false alarm, here at last is a real one. In fact, one day last week, a musician from Rethel who was heading to Banogne-Recouvrance, where a local festival was taking place, was intrigued by the presence of luminous trails in the sky.
Upon investigation, the "flying saucers" turned out to be nothing more than anti-aircraft searchlights belonging to military units conducting maneuvers at the Sissonne training camps. At least, that was the conclusion of the inquiry conducted at the time.
But this latest report seems to carry a certain air of credibility. On Sunday evening, several residents of Tagnon reportedly saw a luminous, orange-colored object moving through the sky in the southwest direction from the aforementioned locality. The same phenomenon was also apparently observed by several motorists who were driving at that exact moment on Route Nationale 51.
Depending on the location - or more precisely, the position - of the observers relative to this mysterious craft, it appeared in different shapes: oval to some, elongated like a cigar to others.
Was this phenomenon also seen by residents of other towns, and could it be one of the enigmatic "flying cigars"?
[Ref. emt1:] ERIC MAILLOT:
Eric Maillot mentions the case of October 3, 1954 in Tagnon in the Ardennes as coming from the book by Jean-Michel Ligeron, indicating that the phenomenon was an orange oval going towards the South-west in the evening.
Eric Maillot notes that the case information is very sparse and that the explanations could be the moon setting down or the known meteor of 08:47 p.m. going from the North-East towards the South-west.
[Ref. ads2:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":
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L'Ardennais for October 3, 2004
[... other cases...]
On October 3rd at 9 pm, an "orange luminous object" described as "oval" or "elongated" according to the position of the witnesses is observed in Tagnon (08).
[... other cases...]
[Ref. cnu1:] CNEGU - "LES MYSTERES DE L'EST":
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L'Ardennais for October 3, 2004
[... other cases...]
On OCtober 3 at 9 p.m., an "orange luminous object" dscribed as "oval shaped" or "elongated" depending on the position of the witnesses is observed in Tagnon (08).
[... other cases...]
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That evening at 9:00 p.m., the moon was, from Tagnon, visible to the southwest at 227° and the low elevation of 1° 51', conducive to the "red moon" phenomenon and the misinterpretations that result from it. There was indeed an impressive amount of misinterpretations in the North of France caused by a low red moon barred by a cloud making it difficult to recognize, at the time of this observation in Tagnon.
The report is very poor, it seems to have been independent witnesses, its cause could even not have been a single cause.
Thus: probable moon, insufficient information.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Tagnon, Ardennes, oval, orange, evening, round, multiple
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 28, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | November 4, 2019 | Additions [ads2], [cnu1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | April 21, 2022 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | May 2, 2025 | Addition [ads1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [ads1]. |
