Monitoring of DS technical issues: study notes completed and pending (8 Sept. 1958)

In this document

This document drawn up by Paul Magès on 8 September 1958 constitutes a technical monitoring report in two parts, concerning the Citroën DS.

Issues already addressed or in the process of being scheduled (p. 271)

A typewritten table lists the DS issues that have been the subject of Study Notes (NE), with their issue number, the NE reference, the planned application date, and the actual application date. Examples include the bronze seal of the pump (NE 31474 of 21.3.58, applied in September 1958), the lantern seat on the pressure regulator (NE 31822 of 12.5.58), the reinforcement of the pressure regulator body (NE 30707 of 13.11.57, schedule 851 on 26.1.59), the lengthened steering dash-pot (NE 30024 of 5.7.57, debate mentioned in July 59), or the new suspension cylinder nut (NE 31217 of 7.2.58, applied on 4.7.58). The table is completed by numerous handwritten annotations adding or correcting references p. 271.

Issues awaiting study (p. 272)

The second page lists the technical points that have not yet been the subject of study notes: the airtight canister (Q55 DS), the high-efficiency filter (Q1007 DS), pump leaks between the liner and the body (issue 62, NE 32714 of 2.10.58), the new steel pressure regulator (Q23 DS), the change of material for spools and liners subject to erosion (issues 56, 57, 59), the cylinders on the gearbox cover (Q9 and Q5, with mention of Mr. Forceau), the rubber seals (manufactured in Rennes, under the responsibility of Mr. Sabrazat), the Armco tube (Mr. Sallot's issue), the brake accumulators, the steering (Teflon seals), the height correctors, and the under-bonnet brake with a notable clarification: "1st appl. on ID 19F" p. 272.

A handwritten note dated 22 September 1958 indicates that the points concerning Mr. Sabrazat were handed to him p. 272.

Context

At this time, the DS 19, launched in 1955, was experiencing its first years of mass production and continuous refinement of its innovations, notably the hydropneumatic suspension and the hydraulic controls (brakes, steering, clutch) of which Paul Magès is the inventor.

The mention of the ID 19—a simplified version of the DS marketed from 1957—places this document in the broader context of the Citroën "Déesse" range of the late 1950s, a period of intense industrial shakedown.

Archivist's perspective

This diptych is likely an internal management tool for the design office, allowing Magès to track the progress of corrections made to the DS after it entered production. The contrast between the two pages—resolved issues on one side, pending issues on the other—provides a concrete image of the continuous improvement work carried out on the vehicle p. 271-272.

The presence of names such as Mr. Sabrazat, Mr. Sallot, or Mr. Forceau, as well as the handwritten follow-up dated 22 September, suggests a living use of the document, likely shared between several collaborators. This type of report echoes, on a different scale, older lists of problems under study kept in the same collection, such as the List of problems under study as of 22 February 1944, testifying to a monitoring method that Magès seems to have maintained throughout his career.