Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet engines, and today specialises in small two-stroke engines for light aircraft and other applications.[1]
History
Hellmuth Hirth and Hirth Motoren
The company was founded by Hellmuth Hirth as Versuchsbau Hellmuth Hirth. The first commercial engine, the 4-cylinder inverted in-line HM 60, first ran in June 1923 and was sold from the next year. Its quality was extremely high and it formed the foundation of the business.[2]
The company was renamed Leichtmetall-Werke GmbH, Elektronmetall GmbH and eventually separated from the aero engine manufacturing to form Mahle GmbH