Allison Transmission

Paolo Valpolini

Created in 1915 by James Allison, initially a fan of bicycle racing soon shifting to motor racing and one of the creators of the famous Indy track, the company has become one of the key players in the transmission world. World War I marked the start of Allison in the military world, the company producing among other tank components. In the post-war period Allison started producing aircraft engines, and after WW II it specialised in components for land vehicles, transmissions soon becoming its core business. Part of General Motors, for part of its existence, in 2007 the company split from GM becoming Allison Transmission.

Its transmissions are widely used throughout the world on commercial as well as on military vehicles. According to the company its products have found application on over 100 platforms, a total of more than 600,000 transmissions for military use having been produced. Transmissions produced in Indianapolis can be found on the M47 Patton tank, on the M113 armoured personnel carrier, to mention two legacy tracked platforms, however Allison transmissions are also used on many wheeled combat platforms. Typical dual-use components, transmissions dedicated to the military marked can be identified by the “SP” suffix which stands for “Special Purposes”.

Currently four types are being produced for wheeled platforms, the 1000SP and 2000 SP series for light vehicles, the 3000SP for medium vehicles, and the 4000SP for heavy vehicles. Three cross-drive transmissions are available for tracked platforms, the X200 Series for vehicles up to 18 tonnes and engine ratings up to 298 kW, currently in use on the UK Bulldog FV432 and on the Turkish FNSS ACV, the 3040MX Series for 37 tonnes and up to 600 kW, adopted by BAE Systems Hägglunds for its CV90 MKI to MKIII and Warrior and by Polish HSW on the Borsuk, the new 4040MX currently adopted on the CV90 MkIV, and the X1100 Series for vehicles between 45 and 63.5 tonnes and engines up to 1,120 kW, adopted on US M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams tanks, on the Polish Krab and on the Turkish Firtina SP howitzers. Finally, the eGen Force hybrid transmission dedicated to future vehicles.

The invite to visit the Allison Transmission manufacturing facility at Szentgotthárd, Hungary, allowed EDR On-Line to acquire first-hand information on Allison operations in Europe and on how the company looks at the future in the military world. Hereafter our readers can find the related articles.

Szentgotthárd: the Allison Transmission European production site

Allison Transmission: looking forward to military vehicles hybridisation

Allison Customer Experience, testing Allison transmissions on the field

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