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. Th ...

. 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 steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

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

unit construction : ''For the vehicle design where the vehicle's skin is used as a load-bearing element, see Monocoque.'' Unit construction is the design of larger motorcycles where the engine and gearbox components share a single casing. This sometimes includes ...

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 Car, automobiles, karts and Airplane, planes. The Praga V3S 5-ton truck was used by the Czechoslovak Army for more than half a century. History Praga was ...

, 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 previou ...

. 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 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 priv ...

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 Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

cars and diesel locomotives, 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 nation ...

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 th ...

) 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 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, wh ...

, mainly in former countries of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In 1994 the company was privatized by the Czech government and transformed into a holding company. However, new management was unsuccessful and in 1998, ČKD holding was close to

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

cy. 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 enthus ...

'', December 2001 issue, p. 462.

Ian Allan Publishing Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised in transport books. It was founded by Ian Allan (publisher), Ian Allan. In 1942 Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for the Southern R ...

. finalized in February 2002.

Products

Trams

Standard trams (T)

* T1 * T2 * T3 ( T3R, T3RF) * T4 * T5 ( T5A5, T5B6, T5C5) * T6 ( T6A2,

T6A5 Tatra T6A5 is a unidirectional high-floor Czech streetcar made for public transport in Europe and is one sub-type of T6 standard trams made by Czech light rail supplier Tatra ČKD in Prague. Five cities, namely Bratislava, Košice in Slovakia a ...

, T6B5, T6C5) * T7 ( T7B5)

Articulated trams (KT, RT)

* K1 * K2 * K5 * KT4 ( KTNF6) * KT8D5 ( KT8D5N) * RT6 ( RT6N1, RT6S) * RT8D5

Trailers (B)

* B3 * B4 * B6A2

Metrocars

*R1

Locomotives

BS-80 BS8 may refer to: * BS8, a BS postcode area The BS postcode area, also known as the Bristol postcode area,Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) is a group of 37 postcode districts in South West England, within eight post towns. These c ...

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 The ''Tančík vz''. 33 ( cz, Tankette model 33) was a Czechoslovak-designed tankette used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Seventy-four were built. The Germans seized forty when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939; there is no r ...

tankette * AH-IV tankette *

St vz 39 ST vz. 39, also known by its factory designation V-8-H, was a Czechoslovak medium tank developed by ČKD in the late 1930s. Only two prototypes were ever built. Design and development In the fall of 1937 a competition was launched for a new m ...

medium tank *

LT vz. 34 The LT vz. 34, formally designated as ''Lehký tank vzor 34'' ("Light Tank Mark 34") was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Its suspension was based on that of the Carden-Loyd tankette, of which the Cze ...

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