Established in 1850 as a workshop producing horse carriages and coaches, Tatra a.s. has been manufacturing motor vehicles, cars and trucks since 1897. Military vehicles have always played an important role in the production range of the company. Starting in 1908 with an AWD military prime mover, the R4-JAGUAR, production continued with T and U models of army passenger cars, and with TL-2 and TL-4, two- and four-ton WWI military trucks.

In 1923 Tatra launched full-scale production based on a backbone-frame type of chassis design that became known as the Tatra concept. It consisted of a central backbone tube extending along the whole length of the vehicle and covering all parts of the driveline, and of independent swing half-axles coming out of the backbone tube and swinging around the backbone tube centre line. Air-cooled Tatra engines were used with this type of chassis.

Many types of military truck were developed and produced between the wars but in 1942, when the Tatra company was under German supervision, a special 6x6 truck was developed whose task was to operate in the most difficult terrain, in deep snow well below freezing point.

For this purpose the Tatra-concept chassis with its rigid backbone tube and independent swing half-axles and the air-cooled V12 engine were further developed. The vehicle, designated the Tatra T-111, was not used in World War II. However its outstanding performance and driving qualities were the basis for exports of commercial off-road Tatra trucks to the USSR in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Tatra T-111 also was used as a standard military truck for the Czechoslovak Army and many other armies of the Warsaw Pact. Successors of this distinguished truck developed the design features of the Tatra-concept, making off-road vehicles particularly suitable for military use.

In 1982 a new T-815 family of commercial and military trucks was launched. Based on the same Tatra-concept principles, these vehicles have developed into the commercial TERRNo1 family, and the military Armax and Force families, the latter two distinguished by their proximity to standard production commercial models.

The Armax family has trucks or chassis based on production models that meet European noise, emission and axle-load standards.

The Force family consists of special truck or chassis models, military and commercial, using several makes of water-cooled engines over 300kW with special or automatic transmissions and other high-performance design features that enhance the outstanding off-road mobility of the Tatra-concept chassis.

Both Armax and Force vehicles use the latest Tatra suspension - the combination suspension that uses the commercial name King Frame®.

Since World War II over 360,000 trucks and chassis using the Tatra-concept have been produced. Of these approximately 135,000 units belonged to the Tatra T-815 and TERRNo1 families. Over 8,700 Tatra T-815 military trucks and various types of chassis (4x4, 6x6, 8x8) were delivered to the Czechoslovak and later to the Czech Army, as well as to many other armies worldwide.

Suspension technology

Principal features:

- rigid central backbone tube:
- no torsion or bending of chassis or superstructure giving safe, trouble-free transport of sensitive loads, special bodies or superstructures
- high ride comfort
- faster drive off-road
- long-life chassis
- driveline shafts and other components covered and protected inside the backbone tube
- the chassis can operate frameless, making it possible to fix certain bodies directly to the chassis cross members

- independent swing half-axles:
- each wheel moves up and down independently giving remarkably high speeds on rough roads
- provides a quick pass over obstacles
- exceptional off-road and cross-country mobility
- excellent absorption of shocks and vibrations
- extremely resistant to impacts and shocks

- modular design:
- high degree of commonality between commercial and military models
- AWD 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, and 10x10 versions in production
- different wheelbase alternatives for each version
- suitable as cargo/troop carriers, and particularly as chassis for different kinds of special superstructures
- lockable side- and inter-axle differentials
- CTIS
King Frame®-Tatra combination suspension
The latest development of the Tatra suspension system is available in two versions:
- the light version that uses a combination of coil springs incorporated inside airbags located above the backbone tube, and
- the heavy version that uses a combination of leaf springs and airbags, located above the backbone tube and so protected against impact or damage.

The principal effect of this design is elimination of wheel camber, an inherent feature of unloaded Tatra trucks using the original Tatra suspension leaf-spring technology. The heavy version using the combination suspension allows for a substantial increase in axle load. Airbag pressure that changes in relation to the load, keeps the frame, cargo body, platform or fifth wheel, always at the same height.

Independent suspension system

- exceptional performance in difficult terrain and hostile environments
- invented and first used successfully in a passenger car in 1923
- used in the production of all-wheel drive Tatra trucks since 1942
- in operation in Siberia, the middle east and throughout Africa
- over 360,000 Tatra trucks using this concept have been produced and sold worldwide since the end of World War II.

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