ČKD (Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk) () was one of the largest engineering companies in the former

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and today's

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It is famous for the Tatra T3, a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

car that sold 13,991 units worldwide.

History

ČKD was formed in 1927 from the merger of two smaller companies, Českomoravská-Kolben (founded 1896, produced machinery for hydro dams) and Breitfeld-Daněk (founded 1854, produced machinery for mines and food industry). From 1927 until 1929 ČKD's products included a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direct ...

single-

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an ...

unit construction double overhead camshaft design of 500cc. It was sold under the marque BD, thus perpetuating the Breitfeld-Daněk identity. In 1929 ČKD sold its motorcycle business to

Praga Hostivař Praga is a manufacturing company based in Prague, Czech Republic. The company produced automobiles, karts and planes. The Praga V3S 5-ton truck was used by the Czechoslovak Army for more than half a century. History Praga was founded in ...

, which re-branded the motorcycles under the Praga marque. It was one of the main suppliers to the Czechoslovak state of military vehicles during the 1930s. During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the company was renamed BMM (''Böhmisch-Mährische Maschinenfabrik AG'') and manufactured arms for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. The company's most notable products in this era were a light tank of the company's own design – the Panzer 38(t) – and the Jagdpanzer 38(t) tank destroyer, which was built on the Panzer 38(t)'s chassis. After the war, ČKD was nationalized and became one of the world's leading producers of

s. These were produced by its subsidiary company, ČKD Tatra (commonly known as Tatra, when being referred to in connection with trams, but separate from the company Tatra). From the 1930s to the 1950s, ČKD also supplied electrical equipment for several

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

es built by Tatra, as well as ones built by Škoda until Škoda began manufacturing its own such equipment. ČKD Tatra also manufactured metro cars and diesel

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

s, that were exported into other communist countries. One such example from the T-series of Czech locomotives was exported into the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

and given a Russian designation "ЧМЭ" (

ChME3 The ČKD ČME3 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by ČKD. The class was used primarily for shunting and mainline duties. With over 8,000 produced during a production run of 31 years, it is one of the most produced locomotives in the ...

) there. In the socialist era ČKD employed up to 50,000 people. After 1989 with worldwide economic and political changes the company lost many of its traditional trade outlets in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, mainly in former countries of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In 1994 the company was

privatized 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 ...

by the Czech government and transformed into a holding company. However, new management was unsuccessful and in 1998, ČKD holding was close to bankruptcy. Some companies went bankrupt, while others returned to state ownership through debts to state-owned bank IPB. The state sold some companies separately to new owners, most notably the 2001 sale of the transport company, ''ČKD Dopravní systémy'' (CKD Transportation Systems, known until 1997 as ČKD Tatra or simply Tatra), to Siemens Mobility's Czech subsidiary, ''Společnost kolejových vozidel'' (SKV),"Siemens invests in Czech Republic". ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthu ...

'', December 2001 issue, p. 462. Ian Allan Publishing. finalized in February 2002.

Products

Trams

Standard trams (T)

* T1 * T2 * T3 ( T3R, T3RF) * T4 * T5 ( T5A5, T5B6, T5C5) * T6 ( T6A2, T6A5, T6B5, T6C5) * T7 ( T7B5)

Articulated trams (KT, RT)

* K1 * K2 * K5 * KT4 (

KTNF6 The Tatra KTNF6 is a modernized tram, type KT4, rebuilt with a central low-floor segment. These types of tram cars are used in Cottbus, in Brandenburg City and Schöneiche-Rüdersdorf, Germany, and in Tallinn, Estonia (as ''KT6T''). Another sim ...

) * KT8D5 ( KT8D5N) * RT6 ( RT6N1, RT6S) * RT8D5

Trailers (B)

* B3 * B4 * B6A2

Metrocars

*R1

Locomotives

* BS-80 narrow gauge steam locomotive *

locomotive * T 466.3 diesel locomotive * T 434.0 locomotive * T 478.3 locomotive * T-669 locomotive

Tanks

* Tančík vz. 33 tankette * AH-IV tankette * St vz 39 medium tank * LT vz. 34 light tank * LT vz. 38 light tank

References

External links

ČKD Group
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ckd Companies of Czechoslovakia Manufacturing companies established in 1927 Rolling stock manufacturers of the Czech Republic Tram manufacturers 1927 establishments in Czechoslovakia Electric vehicle manufacturers of Czechoslovakia