Note from Paul Magès to Mr. Cadiou: "I need a draughtsman" (10 December 1943)

In this document

This item includes a heavily damaged draft p. 7 and its more legible fair copy p. 8, both dated 10 December 1943.

Paul Magès' request

Addressed to a certain Mr. Cadion (read as "Cadiou" in the file title), the note is brief and direct. Magès writes: "If the question of the hydropneumatic suspension is still on the agenda, it is necessary to have a draughtsman assigned to me" p. 8.

He justifies his request by the need to continue the tests: "to carry out this study there are a quantity of tests to be done", adding that he cannot "go any further without having the results of these" p. 8.

The draft on page 7, which is very damaged, bears the same handwritten date ("10_12-1943") and an illegible signature followed by Magès' initials, confirming that it is a first version of the same note.

Annotations and numbering

Both pages bear later filing numbers ("42" and "43"), written in red/burgundy and black, as well as a partially visible stamp mark at the top of page 7. A small handwritten addition at the bottom of page 8, underlined, repeats the subject of the request: "A draughtsman!" p. 8.

Context

The hydropneumatic suspension, a major invention by Paul Magès that would later equip the Citroën DS (presented on 6 October 1955), was still an internal research project in 1943, in the middle of the Occupation period — a context that probably explains the limited resources available to the design office engineers. This request from December 1943 shortly precedes the first plans dated 17 February 1944 (see the Plans for hydropneumatic suspension with differential interaction), which confirms that this was a pivotal period where theoretical study was being established before leading, two and a half years later, to the first tests of the 2 CV (May-July 1946, Notebook of the first tests of the 2 CV with hydropneumatic suspension).

Mr. Cadiou/Cadion, the recipient of the note, appears here as a hierarchical superior to Magès, responsible for allocating the human resources necessary for the ongoing studies; his precise identity is not further detailed in the document.

Archivist's perspective

This short administrative note offers a rare and concrete glimpse into the material conditions in which the invention of the hydropneumatic suspension matured from 1943: it shows an engineer himself requesting, without beating around the bush, the minimal means (a draughtsman) to move forward — Magès who, having joined Citroën in August 1925 as a self-taught worker, was then a technical writer and then deputy head of the Super-Control before joining the design office (autobiographical notes).

The fact that there is a draft p. 7 and a fair copy p. 8 suggests that Magès took particular care with this approach, which was probably considered decisive for the continuation of his work.

This note is part of a larger documentary set on the beginnings of the theoretical study of the suspension, as evidenced in particular by the List of problems under study as of 22 February 1944 and the Folder "Theoretical study – hydropneumatic suspension 1943/44", which allow us to follow the continuation of this work carried out under clearly constrained conditions.