The famous car manufacturer Minerva brought a controlling stake in Fokker-Avia’s engine division in the mid-1930s and the firm now builds under licence Minerva products as well as other manufacturers products. Minerva is known for its quality and Knight auto engines, essentially being a Belgian Rolls–Royce. The radials are primarily built in Czechoslovakia, both home designed and licensed copies (mainly Bristol radials). Inline engines are developed in Belgium by Minerva and built at both Belgian (Brussels) and Czech factories (Letňany).
Products:
Paladin
While Minerva cut its teeth on licensed copies of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, it has developed its own follow on, the “Paladin”. This is a 14-cylinder V-12 engine. In the 1930s, maximum supercharging for Avia inlines was limited to 4,000 and 5,000m. In the 1940s this has crept up to 6,000m and now Avia are developing a three-stage supercharger. The Paladin weighs roughly 1600lbs and runs on 94-Octane fuel.
1939 Paladin II 1517hp
1940 Paladin III 1592hp
1941 Paladin IV 1643hp
Faucon
This is an Avia-developed 14-cylinder radial engine.
1940 Faucon VI 1650hp
1941 Faucon XVII 1735hp
Minion
1936 Minion II 675hp
1937 Minion IIS 725hp
1941 Minion III 725hp
1943 Minion IV 750hp
1944 Minion V 650hp
Avia Radial Engines
1938 Busard
1939 Busard Light
1940 Balbuzard 14R
1942 Faucon 18
1944 Aigle
1946 Condor
Minerva-Avia Inline Engines
1939 Minion
1941 Saker
1943 Culverin
1946 Royal