Credit Facilities, Short-term Borrowings (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			6 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2014 Foreign Performance Guarantee Facilities [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Foreign Lines of Credit And Overdraft Facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Domestic Line Of Credit [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Domestic Line Of Credit [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Agreement [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Agreement [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Chinese Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Chinese Credit Facility, RMB Denominated Loan [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014 The Notes [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member] Maximum [Member]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 637,637				$ 9,678	$ 27,959		$ 200,000	$ 600,000	$ 600,000					$ 22,700
Option to increase maximum borrowings to this amount										800,000
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date							Dec. 20, 2013			Jul. 01, 2018
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date								Dec. 21, 2012
Variable Rate Basis								prime rate or an adjusted LIBOR		LIBOR						interest at the prevailing interest rate offered by the People's Bank of China on the date of borrowing, plus a margin equal to 25% of that prevailing rate	interest at the lender's cost of borrowing rate at the date of borrowing, plus 3%		LIBOR
Basis Spread On Variable Rate												0.85%	1.65%							1.00%	2.25%
Credit facility effective interest rate on outstanding borrowing										1.21%
Cross default provisions related to the Company’s other outstanding debt arrangements in excess of this amount, the occurrence of which would permit the lenders to accelerate the amounts due thereunder										60,000
Debt Covenant, Minimum Consolidated Net Worth Calculation, Base Value										800,000								800,000
Debt Covenant, Minimum Consolidated Net Worth Calculation, Percentage of Net Income										50.00%								50.00%
Debt Covenant, Minimum Consolidated Net Worth Calculation, Percentage of Net Proceeds of Issuance of Capital Stock										50.00%
Debt Covenant, Leverage Ratio, Maximum										3.5 to 1.0								3.5 to 1.0
Debt Covenant, Leverage Ratio During Material Acquisition Period, Maximum										4.0 to 1.0								4.0 to 1.0
Debt Covenant, Leverage Ratio Next Two Succeeding Fiscal Quarters Following Material Acquisition, Maximum										3.75 to 1.0
Deferred financing costs								0			1,651			1,529
Repayment of long-term debt	300,000	41,875	33,365
Accelerated amortization of debt financing costs recognized as interest expense	1,014	1,045	1,074																128
Outstanding borrowings	210,000				0	0			210,000	210,000	0				0
Line of Credit Facility, Rationale for Classification as Long-term Debt		Woodward classified the $200,000 outstanding on the Line of Credit as long-term as of September 30, 2013 based on its intention to refinance in fiscal year 2014						Woodward classified the $200,000 outstanding on the Line of Credit as long-term as of September 30, 2013 based on its intention to refinance in fiscal year 2014.
Deferred Finance Costs, Gross								0			1,651			1,529
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity	421,699				9,235	27,872			384,592
Additional borrowing availability	421,699				9,235	27,872			384,592
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	710,000	450,000
Cash and Cash Equivalents, at Carrying Value	115,287	48,556	61,829	74,539
Cash and cash equivalents	115,287	48,556	61,829	74,539
Amortization of Financing Costs	$ 1,014	$ 1,045	$ 1,074																$ 128