Note 1: Acquisitions, Dispositions, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 Service portfolios [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Service portfolios [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Patents and trademarks [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Patents and trademarks [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Other, principally customer relationships [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other, principally customer relationships [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Otis [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 UTC Climate Controls and Security [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Pratt and Whitney [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Hamilton Sundstrand [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Sikorsky [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Total Segments [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Eliminations and other [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Goodrich Corporation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Goodrich Corporation [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 International Aero Engines AG [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition Date Of Acquisition Agreement																	September 21, 2011		October 12, 2011
Business Acquisition Cost Of Acquired Entity Purchase Price																	$ 18,400,000,000		$ 1,500,000,000
Business Acquisition Cash Paid Per Share																	$ 127.50
Noncash or Part Noncash Acquisition, Debt Assumed																	1,900,000,000
Business Acquisition Revenue Reported By Acquired Entity For Last Annual Period																		8,100,000,000
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill - Beginning Balance	17,943,000,000									1,516,000,000	9,758,000,000	1,223,000,000	4,475,000,000	348,000,000	17,320,000,000	623,000,000
Goodwill resulting from business combinations	27,000,000									6,000,000	21,000,000	0	0	0	27,000,000	0
Goodwill translation and other	(1,801,000,000)									13,000,000	34,000,000	(534,000,000)	(726,000,000)	4,000,000	(1,209,000,000)	(592,000,000)
Goodwill - Ending Balance	16,169,000,000									1,535,000,000	9,813,000,000	689,000,000	3,749,000,000	352,000,000	16,138,000,000	31,000,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross Amount	5,735,000,000		5,828,000,000	2,088,000,000	2,036,000,000	412,000,000	463,000,000	3,235,000,000	3,329,000,000
Accumulated Amortization	(2,727,000,000)		(2,672,000,000)	(1,101,000,000)	(1,060,000,000)	(161,000,000)	(183,000,000)	(1,465,000,000)	(1,429,000,000)
Acquisition Cost Of Acquired Entities and Interest in Affiliates	75,000,000
Noncash or Part Noncash Acquisition and Interest in Affiliates Debt Assumed	3,000,000
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)	761,000,000		762,000,000
Intangible Assets Gross Excluding Goodwill	6,496,000,000		6,590,000,000
Intangible Assets Accumulated Amortization Excluding Goodwill	(2,727,000,000)		(2,672,000,000)
Amortization of Intangible Assets	99,000,000	100,000,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense	$ 340,000,000
Date of Divestiture Approval	March 14, 2012