Allis Chalmers B 1941 - Flickr - mick - Lumix

Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers Model B tractor next to a Fordson

The Allis-Chalmers model B was a small agricultural

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

produced by the

Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial setti ...

Manufacturing company from 1937 to 1957. With over 125,000 units produced, the model B became one of the best selling and longest-produced tractors for Allis-Chalmers. The B came in several different variations including the Asparagus B, Potato Special, and the IB industrial tractor, and gave rise to the larger

Allis-Chalmers Model C The Allis-Chalmers Model C was a small row-crop tractor manufactured by Allis-Chalmers from 1940 to 1949. It was developed from the smaller Allis-Chalmers Model B. Description and production The Model B was too small to work two crop rows at onc ...

. The Model B was styled by

Brooks Stevens Clifford Brooks Stevens (June 7, 1911 – January 4, 1995) was an American industrial designer of home furnishings, appliances, automobiles, and motorcycles, as well as a graphic designer and stylist. Stevens founded Brooks Stevens, Inc., head ...

, an industrial designer and graphic designer.

Description and production

In the early 1930s, Allis-Chalmers tractor division manager Harry Merritt's study of farm census figures showed that, of the nearly seven million farms in America, some four million were of or less. Furthermore, the million or so tractors used on American farms were generally unsuitably large for such acreage. Although the

Fordson tractor Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to ...

and then the first-generation

row-crop tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

s, including the

Farmall Farmall was a model name and later a brand name for tractors manufactured by International Harvester (IH), an American truck, tractor, and construction equipment company. The Farmall name was usually presented as McCormick-Deering Farmall and l ...

, Allis-Chalmers's own Model WC, and others, had been gaining significant

market penetration Market penetration refers to the successful selling of a good or service in a specific market. It is measured by the amount of sales volume of an existing good or service compared to the total target market for that product or service. Market pe ...

and making

mechanised agriculture Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...

ever more popular, Merritt concluded that there was a need for four million small, inexpensive tractors to fill the needs of the small farmers still using horses. In common with other tractors of the time, the Model B received a styled body, designed by industrial designer

. The Model B was initially powered by a Waukesha four-cylinder engine, then from 1938 by an Allis-Chalmers engine. This was increased to in 1943, all with three-speed transmissions. The Model B was adapted for a variety of specialty crops, with variants including a high-clearance Asparagus Special and a narrow-track Potato Special. As a row-crop tractor the rear and wide front axles were adjustable. A standard tractor version, the IB, with fixed axles, was produced as an industrial tractor, often used as a mower. A total of 120,783 Model Bs were built at Allis-Chalmers factories in

West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Histo ...

and in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England. Selling price in 1958 was about $1,500.

Model RC

The Model RC was adapted from the

Allis-Chalmers Model WC The Model WC was a tractor made by Allis-Chalmers from 1933 to 1948. The WC was designed from its start as a nimble, low-cost, but well-powered row-crop tractor that would make the best use of pneumatic rubber tires, which Allis-Chalmers had ...

as a two-plow row-crop tractor using Model B components. It was an expensive stopgap, and in 1939 the more powerful

was introduced, based on the Model B, as a more efficient upgrade.Swinford 1999, p. 27

References

*''The Allis Chalmers Story''. C.H Wendel *''Antique Power Magazine'' July/August 1996
Allis Chalmers Model B
''Antiquefarming.com'' {{commons category, Allis-Chalmers B Allis-Chalmers tractors

Description and production

Model RC

See also

References