This historic engine was among the first model diesels to be produced anywhere in the world, being preceded only by the Swiss ETHA and Dyno models. This pioneering model diesel was designed and manufactured in very modest numbers by Antonin Půrok with the assistance of Gustav Bušek in occupied Czechoslovakia (now Czechia) during WW2. The extremely limited original production was confined to the years 1941 and 1942, taking place under the very noses of an extremely hostile German occupying power. Even this limited production ceased as a result of the bloody aftemath of the May 1942 assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, by Czech partisans. Půrok reportedly spent some time in a German prison, being released in November 1942. Thereafter, he understandably kept his head down!

After the war, Půrok produced a short series of 20 examples, most of which were sold through the M. M. Moučka model shop in Prague under the name "Uran" (Uranium). Půrok then abandoned model engine production and returned to his first love, full-sized slope soaring. 

The illustrated unit is one of a very few present-day surviving examples of this historic design. It has been bench-run, starting and performing very well. For more details of this fascinating and inspiring story, see Ron Chernich's earlier article on the "Model Engine News" (MEN) web-site.