Following successful bench trials of the engine the Soviets decided to purchase a license for it.

In exchange, the German company was to inform the Soviets of all changes to the engine for a period of five years.

The Soviets also hired a number of German skilled workers to work at Factory No.

[2] The need to refurbish the factory greatly delayed Soviet production, even though the more complex components, including all electrical equipment, were initially imported from Germany.

The M-17 was the most powerful engine available to the Soviet aircraft industry and it was in high demand, so much that Factory No.

[3] Unfortunately, the engines built by the Moscow factory were of very poor quality because the management there had made unauthorized changes to simplify production.

The M-17E6.0 or M-17-6.0, as it was sometimes called, had a compression ratio of 6.0:1, flat-head pistons and a maximum output of 680 hp (510 kW).

The other version, sometimes called the M-17E7.3 or M-17-7.3, had a compression ratio of 7.3:1, dished piston heads and a rating of 730 hp (540 kW).

[7] The M-17F was entirely a Soviet design, German development of the BMW VI having ceased some time previously, with articulated connecting rods with a stroke of 199 mm (7.8 in), sliding bearings under the pins of the connecting rods, valves copied from those of the M-5, a copy of the American Liberty engine, a K-17a carburettor, Soviet electrical equipment and, from 1935, a generator.

This model was optimized for low-altitude operations and was built only in one version with 715 hp (533 kW) that weighed 550 kg (1,210 lb).