The Bukh 302 is a Danish farm tractor from the family of two- and three-cylinder diesel models that Bukh introduced at Kalundborg after its first tractors, the DZ30 and DZ45. The 302, 403, 452 and 554 shared the same approach: a Bukh diesel engine in a simple agricultural chassis, sold in the years when the company still hoped to build a tractor business alongside its marine engines.
Bukh 302 at a glance
| Maker | Bukh, Kalundborg, Denmark |
|---|---|
| Type | agricultural tractor |
| Family | two- and three-cylinder series: 302, 403, 452 and 554 |
| Engine | Bukh diesel, two and three cylinders |
| Earlier tractors | Bukh DZ30 and DZ45 |
| Later tractors | Bukh Juno, Jupiter and Hercules |
| End of tractor production | 1968 |
| Company founded | 1904 at Hørve by Jens Bukh and Johannes Gry |
| Moved to Kalundborg | 1915, as Kalundborg Motorfabrik |
| Owner from 1924 | A. P. Møller |
| Company today | BUKH A/S at Kiskelund near Kruså since 2010 |
Only the Danish Wikipedia article on the Bukh company is available online; it mentions the 302 series in a few lines, so this page is short and based on one source (translated from Danish).
History of the Bukh 302
A tractor from an engine maker
Bukh began in 1904 as an engine factory at Hørve on Zealand, founded by Jens Bukh and Johannes Gry, who had been to the United States and seen how engines were made there. The works produced diesel engines for agriculture and industry. In 1915 it moved to Kalundborg under the name Kalundborg Motorfabrik and turned to marine engines; the neighbouring Kalundborg shipyard gave it access to the maritime market, using Bukh engines for cargo winches and auxiliary machinery. When the shipyard failed in 1921 the factory ran into financial trouble and in 1924 it was taken over by A. P. Møller.
The two- and three-cylinder series
In the 1950s the company started building tractors. The first were the DZ30 and DZ45; later came a series of two- and three-cylinder tractors numbered 302, 403, 452 and 554. The 302 belonged to that family, which carried the company’s own diesel engines into the fields at a time when most Danish farms still worked smallholdings with modest power needs. Surviving examples are shown at Danish veteran tractor meetings, among them a 1961 Super 302 rated at 31 hp.
The end of the tractors
In the middle of the 1960s Bukh tried to revive its tractor programme with the Juno, Jupiter and Hercules series of 52, 70 and 93 hp. It was not a great success, and in 1968 tractor production stopped altogether. The company returned to what it knew best: marine diesels and spare parts. Since 2010 Bukh engines have been built at Kiskelund north of Kruså under the name BUKH A/S.
Design and features
- Bukh diesel: the tractor used an engine of the company’s own design, the same kind of unit it built for agriculture and industry.
- Part of a numbered family: the 302 sat in a series with the 403, 452 and 554, sharing two- and three-cylinder layouts.
- Built at Kalundborg: the tractors came from the old engine works that had started with marine power.
- Short-lived programme: Bukh left the tractor market in 1968, so the 302 was built only for part of the 1950s and 1960s.
Bukh 302 versions
- Bukh 302: the model of this page, one of the two- and three-cylinder tractors.
- Bukh 403, 452 and 554: the other models of the same series.
- Bukh Super 302 (1961): a surviving example recorded with 31 hp.
- Bukh DZ30 and DZ45: the first tractors of the 1950s.
- Bukh Juno, Jupiter and Hercules: the final series of the mid-1960s.
The last tractors of the company are described in the article on the Bukh Juno. More machines of the marque are in the Bukh collection.
Sources
- Bukh, Danish Wikipedia: company history, tractor series, end of production
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