Abstract: A variable displacement axial piston pump is typically used to receive fluid from a tank and supply pressurized fluid through a control valve to move an actuator. The present variable displacement axial piston pump has a swashplate arrangement that is capable of being angled in two different directions to control the pressure transitions between the low pressure inlet port passage and the higher pressure outlet port passage as cylinder bores in a barrel of a rotating group rotate through trapped volume regions situated between inlet and outlet port passages of the axial piston pump. Movement of the swashplate arrangement in two different directions provides smooth pressure transitions and increases the operating efficiency of the variable displacement axial piston pump.