Long-term Debt (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended							3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	6 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2014 The Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Non Floating Rate Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 2008 Note Purchase Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 2009 Note Purchase Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 2013 Note Purchase Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 2013 Note Purchase Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Floating Rate Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Series J Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 First Closing Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Second Closing Notes [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 2008 Term Loan [Member] Maximum [Member]	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 Chinese Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Chinese Credit Facility, RMB Denominated Loan [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014	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]
Issuance Date						Oct. 01, 2008	Apr. 01, 2009	Oct. 01, 2013				Oct. 01, 2013	Nov. 15, 2013		Oct. 01, 2008
Face Amount								$ 250,000
Variable Rate Basis														LIBOR							prime rate or an adjusted 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																1.00%	2.25%											0.85%	1.65%
Variable interest rate											1.49%
Debt Covenant, Leverage Ratio, Maximum				3.5 to 1.0																						3.5 to 1.0
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, Calculations, Period Of Time				rolling four quarter basis
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, Leverage Ratio During Material Acquisition Period, Maximum				4.0 to 1.0																						4.0 to 1.0
Debt Covenant, Maximum Percentage of Priority Debt To Consolidated Net Worth				25.00%
Prepayment, Maximum Percentage of Principal				100.00%
Prepayment, Partial Payment Minimum				1,000
Prepayment, Make-Whole Amount Computation, Discount Rate Basis Points					50
Debt Instrument Prepayment Make Whole Amount Computation					discounting the remaining scheduled payments of interest and principal of the Notes being prepaid at a discount rate equal to the sum of 50 basis points and the yield to maturity of U.S. Treasury securities having a maturity equal to the remaining average life of the Notes being prepaid.					computed as a percentage of the principal amount of such floating rate Notes equal to (a) 2%, on or prior to November 15, 2014, (b) 1%, after November 15, 2014 and on or prior to November 15, 2015, and (c) 0% after November 15, 2015.
Debt financing costs	1,297	1,651	2,185						1,297
Amortization of debt financing costs recognized as interest expense	1,014	1,045	1,074											128
Balance of unamortized debt financing costs	4,276	3,869
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date																					Dec. 21, 2012
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date																				Dec. 20, 2013						Jul. 01, 2018
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	637,637																	9,678	27,959		200,000	600,000	22,700			600,000
Outstanding borrowings	$ 210,000																	$ 0	$ 0			$ 210,000	$ 0			$ 210,000	$ 0
Credit facility effective interest rate on outstanding borrowing																										1.21%
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.