Type Designations: A historical review

A review of the various engine type designations applied to Sulzer diesel engines during 1903–2005
and now to Wärtsilä low-speed engines, with a key to some of the designation letters employed.

Introduction followed by a single letter or a combination of letters to

denote the engine type, namely:
A common query related to the history of Sulzer diesel
• 4D85 ending with the nominal cylinder output, in
engines and more recently Wärtsilä two-stroke engines
this case 85 bhp;
is to ask for the meaning of the letters used in the engine
• 4SNo.6a ending with the design sequence number, in
type designations. There is usually a firm belief that there
this case No.6a;
is a unified, rational ‘system’ behind the designations and,
• 4Z200 ending with the nominal cylinder output,
as a result, it is often difficult to dissuade the enquirer,
in this case 200 bhp, for an equivalent four-
and explain that reality is more complicated.
stroke cylinder of similar size to the two-
Although there is not one single system, there have
stroke engine so designated.
been separate systems used at different times in the past.
In around 1910, the modern format of engine type
Usually the designation letters used in these naming
designations was introduced: number of cylinders, a
systems have had a meaning but they have generally just
signified some distinguishing feature of an engine type in
the past and not been part of a single, consistent naming
system valid for all time.
Example:
When there have been systems of naming engines, 6RND68
they soon fell into disuse after a few years, and no two
systems were the same. = 680 mm bore
Over the years, and here we are considering from 1903
until today, almost the whole alphabet has been used in = RND type
engine designations and individual letters have even been = six cylinders
used several times (see Appendix) but with quite different
meanings. The meaning of individual designation letters Fig. 1: Typical format employed for engine type designations
has changed both from engine generation to engine from around 1910 until today.
generation, as well as from engine type to engine type.
There have therefore been so many inconsistencies that a
simple, rational explanation is impossible. Example:
The best that can be accepted is that the letters in
engine type designations have usually had a meaning at 6RT-flex58T-B
the time they are first used in the respective engine series.
Yet one has to be aware that designation letters are often = version B
used long after they have lost their meaning. In effect, = T for longer stroke
engine type designations should be regarded simply as
identifiers, being kept just as a familiar engine ‘name’. = 580 mm bore
This paper thus provides a guide to some of the = RT-flex type
engine designations used in the past and shows how = six cylinders
their meaning has changed over the years. Only certain
examples are explained as anything approaching a full Fig. 2: Recent format for engine type designations including
account would be more like a complete history of Sulzer suffix letter (in this case ‘T’) and development version letter.
diesel engines.
single letter or combination of letters for engine type, and
Format of engine type designations the cylinder bore in centimetres (Fig. 1). In more recent
It might seem surprising but there has been little change times, further letters have been added after the cylinder
in the format of engine type designations for many years. bore to differentiate engines of similar bore but different
In the early years, three other basic formats were used, stroke, and to denote the development version of the
with an initial number indicating the number of cylinders engine type (Fig. 2).

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Successive two-stroke engine generations the letter ‘D’ was introduced for ‘direct’ injection in 1930
but that was not a specially notable feature by the time
It is particularly interesting to follow a succession of
of the RSD type. Although the meaning for the letter
type designations as engine generation followed engine
‘D’ was changed to denote an integral thrust bearing
generation. Thus we consider first the main line of Sulzer
(drucklager) in the RD type of 1961, It came simply to
diesel engines, the low-speed two-stroke marine engines,
identify the reversible marine propulsion engines in the
which began as the S type for Schiff smotoren in 1905.
At first the designations were in the form 4SNo.6a, RND, RND-M, RLA and RLB types, in contrast with
comprising the number of cylinders (4), the engine type the stationary, unidirectional versions which had the
(S) and the design sequence number (No.6a). letter ‘F’ instead, as in the RF type. The ‘F’ for stationary,
Then around 1910, the form of the engine designations uni-directional engines was introduced with the SF72
was changed to include the cylinder bore size, as for engine type adapted from the SD72 marine engine type
example in 4S60 for a 600 mm-bore marine engine type in the late 1940s.
with four cylinders. This format was later adapted for The RTA-series two-stroke engines
engines using separate, electrically-driven centrifugal
blowers by adding the extra letter ‘T’ as in 4ST68. A radical change in designation policy came with the
When airless injection was introduced in 1929, the RTA series introduced in 1982. In 1983 Christian
new S-type engines were initially given the designation Stürzinger, then marketing services manager of Sulzer
SN, with ‘N’ for neu (new). This was very quickly Diesel Division, declared that the designation ‘RTA’ had
changed to the designation SD. Airless fuel injection was no specific meaning. It was simply a name within itself.
at the time often termed ‘direct injection’, thus the ‘D’ Yet the letter ‘R’ remained in use, again to indicate that
was for Direkte Brennstoff -Einspritzung (direct injection). the RTA type was in the same family of low-speed two-
In 1940 when side-mounted scavenge pumps were stroke crosshead-type engines going back to some thirty
introduced, the SD-type engines with side pumps were years to the RSD type.
designated the ‘SDS’ type while those with end-mounted Yet the designation ‘RT’ has been misused internally
pumps remained the ‘SD’ type. However, the situation in the mistaken belief that the letter ‘A’ denoted that
became confused when later the emphasis was reversed it was a first version. It was clearly thought by some
and the engines with side-mounted pumps became people that if there were RLA and RLB types, then there
designated simply as the ‘SD’ type and those with end- could be RTA and ‘RTB’ types. Similarly there were
mounted pumps as the ‘SPD’ type. documents in which the letter ‘F’ was mistakenly added
In 1952, the RSD type was introduced, with the to RTA designations for stationary engines, as in ‘RTAF’,
designation containing ‘R’ for revidierter (revised) SD continuing the previous practice for R-type engines from
type. The turbocharged versions of the SD and RSD the RD to the RL inclusive. Yet, in fact, the stationary
types from the mid 1950s onwards were denoted by versions of the RTA-series engines were never officially
the letter ‘A’ for Aufladung or supercharging to give, for given the designation letter ‘F’.
example, 6SAD60 and 9RSAD76. The most far-reaching aspect of the changes in
The RSD type was succeeded by the RD type in about designation practices was that the RTA designation
1961. It looks as if the designation had been simplified was retained through what were effectively successive
but, in fact, the letter ‘R’ had lost the meaning it held in generations of engines and the new engine types were
the designation RSD and was kept simply as a reminder marked by the addition of suffi x letters and version letters.
of the ‘family’ of Sulzer low-speed crosshead-type engines Differentiation in engine types was also introduced by
while the letter ‘D’ now signified that the engine had an changes in cylinder bore sizes that were chosen to obtain
integral thrust bearing (drucklager). better matches to ship power requirements.
For the RND engine type introduced in about 1968, Thus the first RTA engine types were later regarded as
the designation letter ‘N’ was revived to signify that it the ‘-8’ series, with cylinder bores of 38, 48, 58, 68, 76
was the ‘new’ RD type. The following RND-M type of and 84 cm. The next generation of engines were the ‘-2’
about 1974 was given the letter ‘M’ to denote that the series, the RTA52, RTA62, RTA72 and RTA84M. The
engines were built having screw fastenings to metric reason for the suffi x letter ‘M’ in the lattermost type was
standards, though the ‘N’ in RND-M could hardly still never recorded.
have referred to ‘new’. Again the letter ‘R’ did not have When the -2 series engines were uprated, there was
any meaning other than signifying that it was a Sulzer initially no change in designation but shortly afterwards
low-speed crosshead-type engine. the suffi x ‘U’ was added to differentiate the uprated
The succeeding RL type of 1977 had the letter ‘L’ to engines from the previous rating. The letter ‘U’ was
indicate its characteristic feature of a long stroke. It was officially defined as representing ‘upgraded’ rather than
also the first of the low-speed R-type engines to be given uprated.
version letters ‘A’ and then ‘B’, as in 7RLB90. The next step was to add the suffi x letters ‘C’ and ‘T’
Two main inconsistencies can be seen in the above to indicate that the then new engine types, the RTA84C
account. The letter ‘R’ was used throughout for these low- and later the RTA84T, were ‘tailored’ for application in
speed engine types yet it could hardly have represented respectively container ships and tankers. The suffi x ‘U’
revidierter (revised) after so many years! At the same time, was subsequently interpreted to indicate that the

—2— © Wärtsilä Corporation, November 2006

RTA-2U engines were for more universal application. The in these engines. The RT-flex hardware in these engines
suffi xes ‘T’ and ‘C’ were extended to other engine types is in various sizes to suit engine requirements. These
but later the meanings of the suffi xes were put aside as sizes are referred to as, for example, ‘RT-flex Size IV
they were found to be confusing for marketing. There is, components’ or ‘Size IV components’.
in fact, no reason to restrict certain engines to particular The problem of long designations has led to cases of
applications. It was only really a matter of whether the ‘RTF’ being mistakenly used instead of the correct
engine power, speed, size and number of cylinders are ‘RT-flex’. In such cases ‘F’ also leads to confusion with
appropriate. Indeed the suffi x ‘C’ was dropped from the the ‘F’ used in the past for stationary engines.
RT-flex50C soon after its announcement to avoid any Today Wärtsilä low-speed diesel engines have a
stereotyping. straightforward system for type designations. They are
either RTA engines with mechanical camshaft control,
Version letters for low-speed engines or RT-flex with electronically-controlled common-rail
From 1997 onwards, version letters were also added after systems. Three suffi x letters, ‘U’, ‘C’ or ‘T’, may be
engine type designations, for example in added to indicate that the engines are more appropriate
RTA48T-B, RTA62U-B, and RTA84T-D, to give further for universal application, container ships, and tankers
differentiation. The same practice had been adopted by respectively though their application cannot be restricted
1960 for the LDA traction engines, as in the to those ship types. As already mentioned, all that matters
12LDA28-C. However, the third version of an engine is whether the engine’s speed, power, cylinder number
type is now designated ‘-D’ after the second version ‘-B’ and dimensions are suitable for the given ship project.
to avoid confusion between version ‘-C’ and suffi x ‘C’. Finally, the engine type designations may, or may not,
Yet the practice of adding letters for versions has have a version letter, currently ‘B’ or ‘D’, etc.
not been rigorously applied. When the RTA96C was
uprated in 2001 it should have been designated as the Medium-speed trunk-piston engines
‘-B’ version but it was decided that the ‘-B’ was not to
be used outside the company because the principal need Further illustration about how engine type designations
in the containership newbuilding market was seen to evolved, with inconsistencies quickly arising, can be seen
be for increased power and it was expected that the in the Sulzer Z-type medium-speed trunk-piston engines
original and uprated versions would never be marketed introduced in the 1960s. The letter ‘Z’ was originally
in parallel. However it proved necessary to keep the ‘-B’ chosen because the first engines operated on the two-
designation for identification in drawings and technical stroke cycle, thus ‘Z’ for Zweitakt.
documentation. Four-stroke versions were only introduced after some
Similarly ‘UG’ is seen in some technical years, but the designation of Z type was retained as a
documentation for the uprated, or upgraded RTA84C of familiar name with a good reputation. Later came the
1993 but that is not an official part of the designation. ZA40 type as an uprated version of revised design. The
‘UG’ was actually just an identifier for marking on engine letter ‘A’ had no particular meaning and was purely
drawings. for differentiation. Although the ZA40 was also only
intended to be in four-stroke form it still kept the letter
RT-flex common-rail system and RT-flex engines ‘Z’. The ‘S’, for ‘stroke’, was added to the ZA40 when
Problems eventually arose in the later RTA engine types the stroke was increased for the ZA40S to give a greater
owing to the length and complexity of their designations. stroke/bore ratio.
It was not just a matter of the designations being clumsy When a larger Z-type engine was introduced in 1995,
to use but there were limits in the numbers of characters it was designated the ZA50S, just to give it a family
available for engine designations in some computer resemblance to the designation of the ZA40S. It had the
systems. This came to a peak when the RT-flex common- ‘A’ and ‘S’ from the beginning though there was neither
rail system was introduced in 1998 on a full-scale a previous version nor a shorter stroke version of the
research engine. ZA50S. The letters ‘Z’, ‘A’ and ‘S’ of the ZA50S thus had
Initially the designation ‘RT-flex’ was intended to be no real meaning. The engine designation was thus just a
solely the name of the system, and it was expected that unitary name whose origin could be readily recognised.
a single designation letter would be added to the RTA The designations of the smaller, high-speed A-type
engine designation when the RT-flex system was fitted. engines raise other mysteries. It is not clear why the
Yet it did not turn out that way. The engines were instead engines had the desgnation letter ‘A’. It may have denoted
given the full designation ‘RT-flex’. Thus the first RTA the auxiliary applications for which the A25 was first
engine with the RT-flex common-rail system ordered in intended, or it may have simply been adopted as suitable
2000 was designated 6RT-flex58T-B as it was based on for an engine following the B type but with better
the 6RTA58T-B. Again the designation ‘RT-flex’ cannot performance and better overall economy.
be parsed into separate meanings for individual characters Neither is it clear why the designation AT25 was
but it is a unitary name. adopted for the engine that followed the later AS25 type.
The name ‘RT-flex’ is still retained for the Again it may have been straightforward alphabetical
electronically-controlled common-rail systems employed succession though we shall never know.

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‘H’ for hilfsmotor or heavy fuel acquired the meaning of ‘universal’ application for the
Over the years, there have often been cases where same engine series. The meaning of ‘upgraded’ was
designation letters were misapplied and thereby led to however retained for the letter ‘U’ in the S20U four-
confusion. For example the letter ‘H’ was long used to stroke type, the revised version of the S20.
denote hilfsmotor, or auxiliary engine. Yet it was adopted
in the ZH40 in the 1960s even though all ZH40 engines Conclusion
were employed as main engines. The overall effect is that engine type designations have
The use of ‘H’ arose in the ZH40 because the followed various patterns over the years. There has
first application of Z40 engines was in diesel-electric hardly been any relations between the naming systems
installations for powering icebreakers. The engines had used and there has been very many inconsistencies. It is
to be non-reversing, just as for auxiliary applications. impossible to give one simple explanation for all the type
Another inconsistency arose when ZH40 engines were designations over the many years of engine development.
also applied to propulsion in geared drives. It was another The explanations for the designation letters given in
case of an engine type designation being retained because the Appendix should be regarded of purely historical
it was a good ‘name’ long after its meaning was lost. interest. It is more rational to regard today’s engine
A major difficulty experienced with engine type designations as simply identifier names to differentiate the
designations has been the confusion caused by individual engine types from each other.
letters having different meanings when used in different This is typified by the way that the three main
designations. For example, as above, the letter ‘H’ was families of Sulzer engines from the 1960s to the 1990s
often employed for hilfsmotor, i.e. auxiliary engine, but it were simply known as the R, Z and A types for the low-,
was also introduced for A-type engines, as in 6ASL25H, medium- and high-speed engines respectively, with no
to indicate the heavy-fuel oil versions. meaning recognised for the letters ‘R’, ‘Z’ and ‘A’.
Similarly, the letter ‘D’ is employed as a version letter
as in the RTA84T-D but it was also used previously to
indicate the marine diesel oil version in A-type engines. Reference
The designation letter ‘U’ also had changes in 1. Rule for the Identification of Engine Versions,
meaning. It was applied in the RTA-2U engine series, “Circular to Licensees” No.7336, Wärtsilä
as noted above, to denote the upgraded version. It later Corporation, July 1999.

Appendix: Key to engine type designations

All the meanings of engine designation letters which could be found are listed below. The examples quoted are purely
representative of one or two designations to show how the designation letters were used and are not comprehensive.
The dates given for the first use of the designation letter in the given meaning is purely indicative as often the exact date
cannot be determined. The date first used does not necessarily apply to the quoted example.

Letter Explanation Example First used

A Aftercharged (Aufladung) with reciprocating pumps 4ZA68 1920s

A Supercharged (Aufladung) with exhaust gas turbocharger 6LDA28, 9RSAD76 1935
A First version 6RLA56, 6LD28-A 1950s
A Trunk-piston four-stroke engine type following the B type A25 1964
A Revised version ZA40 1981
A Identifier for high-speed four-stroke engine types A25, AS25, AT25 —
Ac Accumulator-type airless fuel injection valve (Akkumulierventil) 4KAc50 1925
B Trunk-piston four-stroke engine type following the DD type 6BF22 1943
B Second, uprated version 6RLB76, 6RTA48T-B 1980
C Crosshead (Kreuzkopf ) 6QDC38 1936
C Cooled pistons (only for B-type engines) 8BCAF29 1956
C Third, uprated version 12LDA28-C 1960
C Engine for ‘containership’ applications 12RTA84C 1988
D Diesel engine (Dieselmotor) used for original stationary
four-stroke engines of A-frame construction 3D200 1903
D Double-acting (Doppeltwirkend) 8DS70 1924
D Airless fuel injection (Direkte Brennstoff -Einspritzung) 8SD72, 6LDA22 1930
(… continued)

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Letter Explanation Example First used
D Marine engine with integral thrust bearing (Drucklager) 7TD29, 12MD51, RD 1942
D Marine diesel oil version AT25D, S20D 1988
D Another uprated version RTA84T-D 2003
D Identifier for reversible marine propulsion engines RD, RND, RND-M —
DM Dieselmotor for the first production engines DM40 1897
E For electric transmission 6TE29 1947
ES Research engine at CCM 3Q51ES 1931
F Road vehicle engine (Fahrzeugmotor) 6F16 1931
F Free-piston gas generator (Freikolben) 3F40 1938
F Identifier for non-reversing, stationary engines
(including non-reversing version of marine engine) 8SF72, 4BF22, RF68 1940s
G Opposed pistons (Gegenkolben) 2ZG9, 6G32 1936
G For gear drive, non-reversing marine engine (Getriebe) 6SPG58 1948
G Gas engine, high-pressure dual-fuel type ZA40SG 1994
Ga Gas engine (Gasmotor) 6DGa22 1942
H Marine auxiliary engine (Hilfsmotor), or 6SDH45, 8LH31
non-reversing engine in diesel-electric transmission 9ZH40 1910
H Heavy fuel oil version AT25H, S20H 1988
K Shorter-stroke stationary and later marine four-stroke 4K150 1904
engines (Kurzer Hub)
K Crosshead type (Kreuzkopf ) 6RK30 1927
K Marine engine of the 1918 licensee Kobe Steel 8KD76 1938
L Rail traction engine (Lokomotiv-Motoren) 6LD22 1912
L Horizontal engine (liegen) L25 1915
L Blast injection (Lufteinspritzung) 8DZL76 1930
L With higher running speed AL25 1964
L In-line engine configuration ZL40/48 1960s
L Longer stroke 6RLA66 1977
LS Rail traction type construction for marine application 8LSP31 1931
M Marine engines (Busch-Sulzer design) 6M150 1914
M Mitsubishi marine engines, with ‘S’ for the MHI designer Shimizu 6MS72 1932
M Dual-fuel engine (Metangas) 5DDM34 1940s
M Cast construction adapted from QD type 6MD42 1946
M Dual-fuel engine (Mehrstoff betrieb) 7RNMD90 1970
M Metric standards for screw fastenings, etc. 6RND76M 1974
MC Engine compressor set (Motor compressor) MC2 1916
N New design (Neu) 6DN38, 6SN48 1928
n New design (Neu) 9Q51n 1930s
N Following on from ‘n’ 9Q51N 1930s
No. Sequence number of early two-stroke engines 4SNo.5 1907
O Gas engine (Ottomotor) AO25 1960s
P Additional scavenge pumps at free end of engine 2RKP20 1930s
p Small additional scavenge air pumps 4RKWp25 1930s
P Aftercharged by compound admission with 6DDP22 1931
additional reciprocating pumps
P Engine-driven scavenge air pumps at engine free end 8SPD72, 6TPF48 1940
Q Naval engines, mostly in submarines 4Q28 1912
R Crude oil engine (Rohölmotor) 2RV20, 2RK20 1922
R Revised S-type engine (Revidierter) 10RSG58 1952
R Fitted with reverse/reduction gear drive (Reduktions-Getriebe) 6TR24
R Identifier for low-speed two-stroke engine family RSD to RT-flex inclusive —
RTA ‘Superlongstroke’ engine 6RTA58 1982
RT-flex Fitted with common-rail systems for fuel injection 6RT-flex58T-B
and exhaust valve actuation, and with full electronic control
S Marine engine (Schiff smotor) 4S60, RKS30 1905
S Side-mounted engine-driven scavenge air pumps 6SDS72 1940
S Sulzer engine 6S20 1988
(… continued)

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Letter Explanation Example First used
S Longer-stroke engine 16ZA40S 1988
SS Marine auxiliary engine 4SS34 ca. 1920
T Using separate electrically-driven scavenge air blower(s) 8ST68 1919
T Trunk-piston engine (Tauchkolben) 6TF36 1930
T Engine for ‘tanker’ applications. Only RTA84T type. 7RTA84T 1991
T Long-stroke RTA engine with S/B ≈ 4.0 6RTA48T, 6RTA58T 1995
U Earliest submarine engines (Unterseebootsmotor) 6U32 1910
U Universal engine 4UV32 1954
U Fitted with reduction gear drive (Untersetzungsgetriebe) 6BAU22 ca. 1958
U Upgraded engine 6RTA62U, 8S20U 1992
U For universal application 6RTA62U 1992
UG Upgraded engine (Not officially used) RTA84C(UG) 1993
V Vee-form engine 6LV26, 12V65/65 1912
V Precombustion chamber (Vorkammermotor) 4RV24, 3DV38 1921
W Fitted with reversing gear (Wendegetriebe) 4RW20 ca. 1920
X Road vehicle engine 2ZGX9 1945
Z Two-stroke engine (Zweitakt) 4Z133, 9ZH40 1905
Z Identifier for later medium-speed four-stroke engines ZV40/48, ZA50S 1970s

Published in November 2006 by:

Wärtsilä Switzerland Ltd
PO Box 414
CH-8401 Winterthur
Tel: +41 52 262 49 22
Fax: +41 52 262 07 18
www.wartsila.com

—6— © Wärtsilä Corporation, November 2006