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. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbin ...

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

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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

. It has been a subsidiary of

GE Aerospace General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, is an American aircraft engine supplier that is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It is the legal successor to the original General Electric Company founded in 1892, w ...

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 Fiat 508 Balilla was a compact car designed and produced by Fiat from 1932 to 1937. 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 (in ...

514 __NOTOC__ Year 514 ( DXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cassiodorus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1267 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denom ...

522 __NOTOC__ Year 522 ( DXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Symmachus and Boethius (or, less frequently, year 1275 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

and

524 Year 524 ( DXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday on the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus and Opilio (or, less frequently, year 1277 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 524 for ...

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 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

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 is a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine that was 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 developme ...

, Mercury and

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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. W ...

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 contrasts with priv ...

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 The Klimov VK-1 was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production. It was developed by and first produced by the GAZ 116 works. Derived from the Rolls-Royce Nene, the engine was also built under licence in China as the Wopen WP-5. ...

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 (; 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 the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

, 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 () is a Soviet/Russian experimental pop band formed in Leningrad in 1986. AVIA released four studio albums and led the first wave of the Soviet bands which made their breakthrough in the West in the late 1980s. Band history AVIA was formed ...

in 1964. In 1995, the company was

privatised Privatization (rendered 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 wh ...

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

GE Aviation General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, is an American aircraft engine supplier that is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It is the legal successor to the original General Electric Company founded in 1892, wh ...

. 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 RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially ...

in the small

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

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 intended to increase production, by 2012, to 1,000 engines per year.

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 The Walter Bora was a Czechoslovakian nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine for powering light aircraft that was developed in the 1930s by Walter Aircraft Engines.Gunston 1989, p. 174. Variants ;Bora II :Direct drive engine ;Bora II-R : Geare ...

Walter Castor The Walter Castor was a Czechoslovakian seven-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine for powering aircraft that was developed in the late 1920s. The Super Castor was a nine-cylinder development.Gunston 1989, p. 174. Castor I production began in 1928 ...

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 The Walter Mars I was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s. Design and development The Mars I was the largest capacity design of a series of three similar radial engines develop ...

Walter Mars The Walter Mars was a Czechoslovakian 14-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine for powering aircraft, a licensed built Gnome-Rhône 14M. Applications *Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Note. 204 of these airplanes were produced in the Aero Praha factory during t ...

- license built

Gnome-Rhône 14M The Gnome-Rhône 14M was a small 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine that was used on several French and German aircraft of World War II. While having the same appearance, number of pistons (14) and two-row layout typical of Gnome-Rhô ...

. * Walter Merkur - license built

Bristol Mercury The Bristol Mercury is a British nine-cylinder, air-cooled, single-row, piston radial engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from ...

* Walter NZ 40 *

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 Walter Aircraft Engines is an aircraft engine manufacturer and former automotive manufacturer. Its notable p ...

Walter NZ 85 The Walter NZ 85 was a seven-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 Walter NZ 60 (Nová ...

Walter NZ 120 The Walter NZ 120 was a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use. It was built in Czechoslovakia by Walter Aircraft Engines in the 1920s. Using common cylinders and parts from the NZ (Novák-Zeithammer) range of engines the NZ 1 ...

Walter Polaris The Walter Polaris was a Czechoslovak 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 example ...

Walter Pollux The Walter Pollux is a Czechoslovakian nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine, built by Walter Aircraft Engines for powering light aircraft and that first ran in 1936. The engine produces at 1,800 rpm. The first known use was on the Fiesele ...

* Walter Regulus *

Walter Scolar The Walter Scolar was a Czechoslovak nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine for powering light aircraft that first ran in 1936. With a displacement of 8 litres (490 cu in), it produced 132 kW (180 hp) at 2,500 rpm.Gunston 1989, p. 174. ...

* Walter Super Castor - 9-cylinder development of the Castor *

Walter Venus The Walter Venus was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use, built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s. Applications * Aero A.34 * ANBO V * Savoia-Marchetti S.56A Specifications See also References * * Němeče ...

Walter Vega The Walter Vega was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use, built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s. Applications * Aero A.34 * ANBO V * Avia BH-11 * Couzinet 22 * Fizir AF-2 * Pander E85 * PWS-8 Specifications Se ...

Inline

Walter Junior The Walter Junior was a family of four cylinder air cooled inverted inline engines produced by Walter Aircraft Engines in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s for aircraft, characterised by a bore and stroke of , a displacement of and producing roughly ...

Walter Major Walter Major was a family of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak aircraft inline engines developed by Walter Aircraft Engines in the 1930s. Design and development Available in either four or six cylinder configuration, with identical bore and stroke o ...

Walter Mikron The Walter Mikron is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted straight engine for aircraft. Development Developed in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s, the engine saw limited use in late 1930s and early 1950s. In the 1980s an initial batch of engi ...

-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 (project) * Walter M436 (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 Stroke is a medical condition in which ...

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 cubic inch, cu in) ...

Horizontally-opposed

Walter Atom The Walter Atom is a Czechoslovakian air-cooled horizontal two-cylinder engine used on light aircraft. It was first produced in 1934. Specifications (Atom) See also References http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/Duxford/czechaer1.htm ...

Walter A Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

* Walter M110 * Walter M202 * Walter M208

Turbojet

Motorlet M-701 The Motorlet M-701 is a Czechoslovak jet engine. It was used to power the Aero L-29 Delfín jet trainer, with about 9,250 engines built between 1961 and 1989. Development and design In 1955, the Czechoslovakian aero-engine company Motorlet comme ...

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 was ...

* Walter M602 * GE Catalyst (Formerly ATP)

Engines built under license

as Walter Jupiter *

as Walter Mars 14M *

as Walter Mercury *

Pobjoy R The Pobjoy R is a British seven-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engine designed and built by Pobjoy Airmotors. Introduced in 1926, it was a popular engine for ultralight and small aircraft in the 1930s. A notable feature of the Pobjoy R was ...

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 t ...

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 an ...

as Walter Packard Diesel *

Bristol Pegasus The Bristol Pegasus is a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial engine, radial aircraft engine, aero engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1 ...

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 Motoren Werke AG, who, at the time, were exclusively an aircraft engine manufacturer. Its success laid the foundati ...

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 ...

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 The Fiat A.20 was an Italian aircraft engine, aero-engine of the 1920s. It was a water-cooled V12 engine that was used by early versions of the Fiat CR.20 fighter and the Macchi M.41 seaplane. In 1923, FIAT built the Fiat A.15, A.15, a 430&nbs ...

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 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 techniques ...

Walter Argus 410 *

as Walter M-05 *

as Walter M-06 * Walter M-07 *

Ivchenko AI-25 The Ivchenko AI-25 is a family of military and civilian twin-shaft Turbofan, medium bypass turbofan engines developed by Ivchenko-Progress, Ivchenko OKB of the Soviet Union. It was the first bypass engine ever used on Flight length#Shortest comm ...

as AI-25W

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Automotive industry in the Czech Republic Czech brands Aircraft engine manufacturers of the Czech Republic Manufacturing companies of Czechoslovakia

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

Manufacturing companies established in 1911 Motor vehicle manufacturers of Czechoslovakia 1911 establishments in Austria-Hungary