Friedrich Wilhelm Eckhardt (25 February 1892 – 9 April 1961) was a German engineer and head of the design office for the Berliner Maschinenbau Aktien Gesellschaft vormals L. Schwartzkopff.
Friedrich Wilhelm Eckhardt was born on 25 February 1892 in Kassel and initially worked for Henschel & Sohn before switching to L. Schwartzkopff in 1916. In 1936 he became a senior engineer (Oberingenieur).
He played a decisive role in the designs of the DRG Class 41 and Class 84 steam locomotives. For the latter, he developed the Schwartzkopff-Eckhardt II bogie named after him, which was designed to improve the curve running of steam engines.
In addition he published several books on the construction and design of steam locomotives.He died on 9 April 1961 in Niederlehme.