Plan E401.144c-147c with handwritten observations by Magès on the machining of the pump

In this document

The technical plan

The page presents a Citroën plan referenced E401.144c.147c (with associated mentions E401.142c, E401.143c, E401.145c), stamped QM.399 D and E42401 T, bearing the stamp "VALABLE POUR EXAMEN" (VALID FOR EXAMINATION) and the official stamp of the "S.te A.me André Citroën" dated 29 October 1951. The technical title block also mentions "Perineau 23/10/51" and the word "Ensemble" (Assembly) written by hand.

The diagram represents, in blue ink, a cylindrical mechanical part in section — probably a pump or a shaft — with dimensions including a diameter noted "145" repeated, as well as references to parts designated "Circlips 27e" and the references E401.

Magès's handwritten observations

A long annotation in pencil, not signed in a legible way, indicates that "this pump will be replaced by a new Magès drawing" with a "drive on the shaft" of the fan (mention partially uncertain) p. 3.

The text specifies that a "plan in progress at the B.E.A." must replace this drawing, on the date of 15 November 1951 p. 3.

Magès then criticizes the machining of the part, which he deems "unacceptable" p. 3:

These two remarks are dated 15/11/51 and followed by an illegible signature.

Context

The Bureau d'Études Automobiles (B.E.A.) of Citroën, mentioned here, is the department where Paul Magès worked in the 1950s — he was then deputy head of Super-Control, a self-taught technical writer who joined Citroën in August 1925 (autobiographical notes) —, a period of intense development of the hydropneumatic suspension whose first plans date from 17 February 1944 (hydropneumatic suspension plans) and auxiliary hydraulic systems intended for the future DS, presented on 6 October 1955.

The hydraulic pumps of this type, driven by the engine fan control shaft, are classic components of the automobile of that era for lubrication or the supply of pressurized circuits — a central subject of Magès's research at this period.

Archivist's perspective

This document illustrates Magès's role not only as a designer but as a demanding quality controller: he explicitly rejects the machining of a part deemed too imprecise (assembly clearance, grooves), which shows the concern for mechanical detail that characterized his methods.

The double dating — stamp of 29 October 1951 for the plan, annotation of 15 November 1951 for the critique — suggests that this document served as a working support over several weeks, probably reviewed and annotated after an initial estimation.

This plan is part of a coherent series with the folder annotated "Pompe mono auto-régulatrice" and the handwritten note by Magès of 15/11/51 on the replacement of the pump drawing, which seems to repeat and detail the same machining criticisms.