Handwritten sketch no. 12 (12 March 1933) — study of a mechanism in section

In this document

The sheet bears the number "12" circled and the handwritten date "12/3 - 33", i.e., 12 March 1933 p. 31.

The main sketch

The drawing represents, in section, a mechanism composed of a vertical part surmounted by two parallel rods, along which are arranged rounded elements "similar to balls or springs" p. 31. This assembly rests on a wider hatched block, indicating a cut section, itself placed on a rectangular horizontal part featuring a sketched semi-circular cutout p. 31.

Preparatory sketch

To the left of the main sketch is an oval/circular shape drawn lightly, without hatching — described as a preparatory sketch or an unfinished part p. 31. On the right side of the mechanism, several small details (a circle, small protrusions) complete the drawing p. 31.

No textual legend, part dimensions, or functional indication accompany this sketch in the available transcription.

Context

In March 1933, Paul Magès was working at Citroën during a period when the company was intensely developing its mechanical and suspension solutions, several years before the culmination of the hydropneumatic suspension that would equip the DS in 1955. This type of quick, unlabelled sketch, drawn in a numbered notebook, corresponds to a common practice of engineers of the time to capture a mechanical idea before cleaning it up or performing detailed calculations — although it is impossible here, due to a lack of indications in the document, to link this drawing to a named project.

Archivist's perspective

The continuous numbering ("12") suggests that this sheet belongs to a series of sketches dated and filed day by day, probably kept by Magès as a current work notebook in 1933 p. 31.

The shape of the mechanism — rods, rounded elements evoking balls or springs, cut block — could refer to a pusher, valve, or guide element type part, but the absence of a legend in the document prevents any certain identification; this is a reading hypothesis, not an attested fact.

The presence, in the same collection, of a handwritten folder "1933" listing several studies (gears, injection, carburettor, synchroniser) suggests that this sketch is probably part of one of these reflection projects led by Magès that year, without it being possible to specify which one from sheet 12 alone.