In the post-war economic boom of the 1920s, the demand for global shipping rose rapidly, as did the need for more powerful and fuel-efficient plane, train, and marine engines. Answering the call was the VT402. Built by in Baden, Switzerland by BBC, the predecessor to today’s Accelleron, it was the world’s first heavy-duty turbocharger running entirely on exhaust gas and the first such turbocharger was delivered to the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) company in 1924 for its rail engine.
Only months after the delivery to SLM, the Oderwerke shipyard in Germany began building two big, new passenger ships, each powered by 10-cylinder, four-stroke engines.
These were turbocharged as well by the VT402, which nearly doubled each engine’s power output from 2,500 kW to 4,800 kw.
Launched in 1926, the MS Preussen and MS Hansestadt Danzig made maritime history as the first vessels to be equipped with turbocharged engines. Turbocharging technology
enabled ships to travel faster and operate more fuel efficiently. The VT402 started a revolution in heavy-duty transport and since then, this technology has been widely adopted, continuously
evolving and becoming a fundamental part of modern marine propulsion engineering.
Find out more of our history here: https://accelleron-industries.com/about/100-years
