Steering incident on a DS: SNECMA-Citroën correspondence (27 June 1963)

In this document

The letter from Mr. Mahoudeau (27 June 1963)

The director of the SNECMA test centre in Villaroche (via Moissy), P. Mahoudeau, writes to Mr. Clément, head of the Super Control department at Société André Citroën, quai André Citroën in Paris p. 14.

He transmits a "copy of the report which was drawn up by the Company's inspection department concerning the steering incident that occurred on my DS 160 KL 77 car" p. 14. This incident had prompted Mr. Clément's trip to Villaroche for an expert assessment p. 14.

Mahoudeau considers the report "perfectly objective," and its "conclusion seems valid to me," but believes it does not truly shed light "on the real cause of the accident" p. 14. He announces that he is forwarding this report "to the various competent Departments of our Factory" in order to obtain "an authorized opinion" which he will then communicate to Citroën p. 14.

Citroën's response

Below this letter is a response, dated 2 July 1963 according to a superimposed note, addressed to Mr. Mahoudeau at the Villaroche test centre: Citroën acknowledges receipt "of your letter of 27 June last, containing the report drawn up by your Inspection Department" p. 14. The body of the message is then illegible, except for the final polite closing.

A note indicates that a copy is sent to Mr. Cadiou p. 14.

Context

The DS, launched by Citroën in 1955, is renowned for its hydropneumatic suspension and steering, technologies steered in particular by the engineer Paul Magès. This type of incident on a private vehicle — in this case that of an executive at SNECMA, the national aircraft engine company — illustrates the usual exchanges between manufacturers and major accounts or prominent figures owning a DS, when a technical defect was reported.

The "Super Control" department at Citroën corresponds to an internal structure responsible for examining incidents reported in the field, in liaison with the engineering teams.

Archivist's perspective

This letter is part of a sustained exchange of correspondence between SNECMA and Citroën regarding the same steering incident. It follows SNECMA internal note no. 63/667 of 20 June 1963, and precedes the note from Mr. Clément to Mr. Cadiou dated 3 July 1963, which allows for the reconstruction of a fairly precise chronology of the affair over about ten days.

It seems that the SNECMA report, although "objective" according to Mahoudeau, did not satisfy Citroën regarding the establishment of the real cause of the incident p. 14 — hence the request for an additional "authorized opinion" and the transmission to Mr. Cadiou, probably of the Automotive Design Office. This document, modest in appearance, thus documents a key stage of a broader technical investigation into the reliability of the DS hydraulic steering.