Walter Aircraft Engines is an

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

manufacturer and former automotive manufacturer. Its notable products include the M601 turboprop. The company is based in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a tempera ...

, Czech Republic. It has been a subsidiary of

GE Aviation GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. GE Aviation is among the top aircraft engine suppliers, and offers engines for the majority of commercial aircraft. GE Aviation is part of th ...

since July 2008.

History

Josef Walter founded the company in 1911 to make motorcycles and motor tricycles. It started to make automobiles in 1913: initially its own models, and later the

Fiat 508 The 508 Balilla was a compact car designed and developed by Fiat in 1932. It was, effectively, the replacement of the Fiat 509, although production of the earlier model had ceased back in 1929. It had a three-speed transmission (increased to fou ...

, 514, 522 and 524 under licence. By 1926 Walter was Czechoslovakia's fourth-largest car maker by sales volume. In 1929 it still held fourth place, and production peaked at 1,498 cars for the year. By 1932 Walter production had slumped to 217 cars for the year. The figure recovered to 474 in 1933, but fell again to 102 in 1936 and to only 13 in 1937. Walter ceased car production in 1954. Automobil Walter Motors

From the early 1920s Walter also manufactured BMW aircraft engines under license, as well as its own family of air-cooled radial piston engines. In the 1930s Walter also made

Bristol Jupiter The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments tur ...

, Mercury and

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

engines under licence, and then created its own in-line inverted air-cooled four- and six-cylinder engines, and in 1936 an air-cooled inverted V12. Walter aircraft engines were used by the air forces of 13 countries before World War II. During World War II Walter made Argus engines under license for Germany. Manufacture of the

BMW 003 The BMW 003 (full RLM designation 109-003) is an early axial turbojet engine produced by BMW AG in Germany during World War II. The 003 and the Junkers Jumo 004 were the only German turbojet engines to reach production during World War II. ...

turbojet was put into preparation, but none were produced. The Walter plant survived the war intact and in 1946 the company was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

as Motorlet n.p. It made Soviet-licensed piston engines, and in 1952 began manufacturing the Walter M-05 jet engine. This was the Soviet Klimov VK-1 engine, based on the

Rolls-Royce Nene The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 ...

, which powered the

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

, and was exported to many countries. The company made a series of Soviet-designed engines during the 1950s and 1960s, though piston engine production was closed and transferred to

Avia Avia Motors s.r.o. is a Czech automotive manufacturer. It was founded in 1919 as an aircraft maker, and diversified into trucks after 1945. As an aircraft maker it was notable for producing biplane fighter aircraft, especially the B-534. Avia c ...

in 1964. In 1995, the company was

privatised Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

as Walter a.s., and in 2005 the aviation engine division became Walter Aircraft Engines. In July 2006 it was acquired by the Czech investment firm, FF Invest. In March 2007 it was announced that Walter Aircraft Engines would merge with Avia's aero-engine division. The company was also merged with the precision casting company PCS. In September 2007, it was announced that the company's assets (which do not include its current facility in Prague) would be purchased by

. The transaction was completed in July 2008. GE's interest in Walter has to do with the former's desire to compete more aggressively with

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military avia ...

in the small

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel i ...

market; Pratt & Whitney holds a commanding market share there. Walter builds the M601 engine, which GE hopes to refine and position against Pratt & Whitney's PT6. Walter currently builds 120 M601 engines per year; GE intends to increase production, by 2012, to 1,000 engines per year. However this was never attained, as in 2019, GE Aviation Czech is producing under 100 M601s and H-Series.

Walter engine families

''Data from:Engine Data Sheets:Czechoslovakian Aero Engines Walter developed families of engines based on common bore and stroke: ;Atom / Mikron: Bore x Stroke ;Minor: Bore x Stroke ;Junior: Bore x Stroke ;Major / Sagitta: Bore x Stroke

Engines

Radial

Walter Atlas The Walter Atlas was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s. Design and development The Atlas was the largest capacity and most powerful radial engine design developed by the Walt ...

* Walter Bora * Walter Castor *

Walter Gemma The Walter Gemma was a Czechoslovakian nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aero engine that was developed and manufactured in the early 1930s by Walter Aircraft Engines Walter Aircraft Engines is an aircraft engine manufacturer and former aut ...

* Walter Mars I * Walter Mars - license built Gnome-Rhône 14M. * Walter Merkur - license built Bristol Mercury *

Walter NZ 40 The Walter NZ 40 was an unsuccessful, three-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in Czechoslovakia by Walter Aircraft Engines in the late-1920s. Design and development Using common cylinders and parts from the earlier Walt ...

Walter NZ 60 The Walter NZ 60 was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in Czechoslovakia by Walter Aircraft Engines in the 1920s. Applications * Albert A-20 * ANBO II * Avia BH-9 * Avia BH-10 * Avia BH-11 * Avia BH-12 * DUS III ...

* Walter NZ 85 * Walter NZ 120 *

Walter Polaris The Walter Polaris was a Czechoslovakian three-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine for powering light aircraft that was developed in the 1930s.Gunston 1989, p. 174. Applications * Letov Š-39 * Rearwin Junior Engines on display A preserved exam ...

* Walter Pollux * Walter Regulus * Walter Scolar * Walter Super Castor - 9-cylinder development of the Castor *

Walter Venus Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

* Walter Vega

Inline

* Walter Junior * Walter Major *

Walter Mikron The Walter Mikron is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted straight engine for aircraft. Development Developed in Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name ...

-produced 1935 onwards *

Walter Minor The Walter Minor is a family of four- and six-cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engines, developed under auspices of ing. Šimůnek and used on light aircraft. First produced in 1929, the Minor engines' family has an advanced design for the p ...

- first produced 1929, from 105 to 160 hp outputs * Walter M332 - entered production in 1958 * Walter M337 - 6-cylinder development of the M332 *

Walter M431 Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

(project) *

Walter M436 Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

(project)

V12

* Walter M446 (project) *

Walter Minor 12 The Walter Minor 12 was a 12-cylinder, air-cooled, V engine for aircraft use built in Czechoslovakia by Walter Aircraft Engines in the late-1930s. Design and development Sharing the bore and stroke dimensions of the Walter Minor and the layo ...

Walter Sagitta The Walter Sagitta was a Czechoslovakian, air-cooled, inverted V-12 engine that first ran in 1937. This was one of several smaller, low-mass medium power pre-war V-12 engines produced. With a displacement of 18.4 liters (1,123 cu in), it produc ...

Horizontally-opposed

Walter Atom The Walter Atom is an air-cooled horizontal two-cylinder engine used on light aircraft. The Atom is a Czechoslovakian engine first produced in 1934. Specifications (Atom) See also References http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Duxfor ...

Walter A Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

* Walter M110 * Walter M202 * Walter M208

Turbojet

* Motorlet M-701

Turboprop

Walter M601 The Walter M601 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Walter Aircraft Engines of the Czech Republic. The company's first turboprop, the M601 is used in business, agricultural and military training aircraft. Development The turboprop wa ...

* Walter M602

Engines built under license

as Walter Jupiter * Gnome-Rhône 14M as Walter Mars 14M * Bristol Mercury as Walter Mercury * Pobjoy R as Walter Mira R *

Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major The Gnome-Rhône 14K ''Mistral Major'' was a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial engine. It was Gnome-Rhône's major aircraft engine prior to World War II, and matured into a highly sought-after design that would see licensed production ...

as Walter Mistral 14K *

Packard DR-980 The Packard DR-980 is an American nine-cylinder air-cooled aircraft Diesel engine first certificated in 1930. The engine was unpopular despite its economy and reliability due to the unpleasant nature of its diesel exhaust fumes and ...

as Walter Packard Diesel * Bristol Pegasus as Walter Pegasus *

BMW IIIa BMW IIIa was an inline six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain, water-cooled aircraft engine, the first-ever engine produced by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG, who, at the time, were exclusively an aircraft engine manufacturer. Its success laid the foundatio ...

as Walter W-III *

BMW IV The BMW IV was a six-cylinder, water-cooled inline aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. Power was in the 180 kW (250 hp) range. World record On 17 June 1919 Franz Zeno Diemer flew a DFW F37, powered by a BMW IV engine t ...

as Walter W-IV *

Junkers Jumo 204 The Jumo 204 was an opposed-piston, inline, liquid-cooled 6-cylinder aircraft Diesel engine produced by the German manufacturer Junkers. It entered service in 1932. Later engines in the series, the Jumo 205, Jumo 206, Jumo 207 and Jumo 208, dif ...

as Walter Jumo IV C * Fiat A.20 as Walter W-V, W-VI, W-VII and W-VIII *

Argus As 10 The Argus As 10 was a German-designed and built, air-cooled 90° cylinder bank-angle inverted V8 "low power" aircraft engine, used mainly in training aircraft such as the Arado Ar 66 and Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser and other small short-range ...

as Walter Argus 10 *

Argus As 410 The Argus As 410 was a German air-cooled inverted V-12 light aircraft engine that was first produced by Argus Motoren in 1938. Design and development The engine marked a departure from earlier Argus engines in that it had new construction tech ...

Walter Argus 410 *

as Walter M-05 * Klimov VK-1 as Walter M-06 * Walter M-07 *

Ivchenko AI-25 The Ivchenko AI-25 is a family of military and civilian twin-shaft medium bypass turbofan engines developed by Ivchenko OKB of the Soviet Union. It was the first bypass engine ever used on short haul aircraft in the USSR. The engine is still ...

as AI-25W

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Automotive industry in the Czech Republic Aircraft engine manufacturers of the Czech Republic Manufacturing companies of Czechoslovakia Walter Manufacturing companies established in 1911 Motor vehicle manufacturers of Czechoslovakia