GEIPAN Case 1953-04-00005 — LIMOGES (87) 11.04.1953
French Air Force case file: three military witnesses at Limoges observe a large silent red-orange light execute a 180-degree reversal across 45 degrees of sky in six minutes — GEIPAN's own verdict is Class D, unexplained.
Brief
On 11 April 1953 at 21:10, three witnesses stationed at an Air Force warehouse in Limoges watched a large red-orange point of light move silently east-to-west. A captain on scene recorded the object traversing roughly 45 degrees of the celestial vault, reversing on a 180-degree heading, and returning along an irregular broken-line path whose angular deviations measured approximately 15 degrees relative to its axis of travel — total elapsed time six minutes. The case was formally investigated by CNES's UAP unit (under its successive names GEPAN, SEPRA, GEIPAN) and carries their Class D designation, meaning it remained unexplained after investigation. Case materials reportedly include gendarmerie procès-verbaux and technical notes.
Metadata
- Agency
- GEIPAN / CNES
- Release
- 2007-03-22
- Type
- PDF • .pdf
- Length
- 4 pages
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED (GEIPAN Class D — unexplained)
- Programs
- GEIPAN, GEPAN, SEPRA
- Tags
- red-orange luminous point, silent flight, E-W trajectory, broken-line path, 180-degree reversal, Limoges France, 1953, GEIPAN Class D, military witnesses
Key points
- Three witnesses at a French Air Force warehouse in Limoges observed the phenomenon on 11 April 1953 at 21:10 local time.
- The object presented as a large red-orange point of light, moving silently on an east-to-west heading.
- A captain on scene documented a round-trip trajectory spanning roughly 45 degrees of the celestial vault over six minutes.
- The flight path was an irregular broken line, with directional deviations of approximately 15 degrees along the axis of displacement.
- The object executed a full 180-degree reversal before retracing a portion of its original track.
- GEIPAN assigned Class D — their designation for cases remaining unexplained after formal investigation.
- Attached case materials reportedly include gendarmerie procès-verbaux and technical notes produced by GEPAN/SEPRA/GEIPAN investigators.
Most interesting
- A broken-line path with 15-degree angular deviations at observed speed rules out conventional aircraft and ballistic trajectories, neither of which can execute sharp angular course changes mid-flight.
- GEIPAN's dual-axis strangeness descriptor for this case — 'phénomène étrange à très étrange / de consistance moyenne à forte' — translates as 'strange to very strange / medium to strong consistency,' reflecting both the anomaly level and the rated reliability of the witness testimony.
- The case predates France's formal UAP investigation unit: GEPAN was not established until 1977, meaning the original 1953 documentation relied on gendarmerie and Air Force channels alone before later scientific review.
- A six-minute continuous observation window with three independent military witnesses at a secure Air Force facility represents above-average evidentiary weight for a 1953 sighting.
- GEIPAN released this case in March 2007 as part of its public archive opening — one of the earliest national space agencies to disclose its UAP case files in bulk.