Manufacturer catalog

Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co.

Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. was a U.S. Bridgeport Brass manufacturer identity tied to mid-century aircraft rockets and aluminum defense-production work. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum records identify the division as manufacturer of both a 5-inch FFAR Zuni example and a 2.75-inch FFAR Mighty Mouse example, while government and industrial-history sources place Hunter Douglas Aluminum at Riverside, California, and Bridgeport Brass within a larger copper, brass, aluminum, and wartime ordnance-production lineage.

2 weapons

Bridgeport Brass was established in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1865 and developed from brass and copper stock processing into wire, tubing, sheet, finished metal goods, and later wartime shell-case production. Preservation Connecticut's mill record describes the company as a major industrial employer whose Bridgeport factories supported Allied World War II production with naval 1.1-inch, Army 37 mm, and British two-pound shell casings before the postwar company remained active in non-ferrous metal manufacturing.

The Hunter-Douglas name in this catalog refers to a Bridgeport Brass division rather than to the unrelated modern window-coverings company. Period and government sources identify Hunter Douglas Aluminum as a Riverside, California, operation associated with Bridgeport Brass. A CDC/NIOSH residual-radioactivity appendix lists Hunter Douglas Aluminum Corp. at Riverside as also known as Bridgeport Brass Co. for 1959-1963 Atomic Weapons Employer work, including uranium-stock extrusion and uranium-zirconium billet fabrication under subcontract.

For weapon attribution, the strongest public evidence comes from Smithsonian collection records. The National Air and Space Museum says the U.S. Navy Zuni was introduced around 1958 by the Hunter-Douglas Division of Bridgeport Brass Company and lists Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. as manufacturer for its 5-inch FFAR Zuni object. A separate Smithsonian Mighty Mouse object page lists the same manufacturer for a 2.75-inch folding-fin aerial rocket example.

Unguided aircraft rocket manufacturingAluminum and non-ferrous metal fabricationDefense contract extrusion and precision metalwork

Notable Systems

5-inch rockets, Unguided 5-inch rocket family, Munitions

5-inch FFAR Zuni / 5-inch rockets

Unguided 5-inch rocket family

Smithsonian identifies Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. as manufacturer of a U.S. Navy 5-inch FFAR Zuni object and describes the Zuni as introduced around 1958 by the Hunter-Douglas Division of Bridgeport Brass Company.

Sources: NASM Zuni object page, ODIN Zuni 5-inch FFAR
2.75-inch rockets, Unguided 2.75-inch air-launched rocket family, Munitions

2.75-inch FFAR Mighty Mouse / 2.75-inch rockets

Unguided 2.75-inch air-launched rocket family

Smithsonian lists Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. as manufacturer for a 2.75-inch FFAR Mighty Mouse object, connecting the division to the early U.S. folding-fin aerial rocket family.

Sources: NASM Mighty Mouse object page

Manufacturer History

  1. Bridgeport Brass established

    Preservation Connecticut records Bridgeport Brass as organized in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1865 by D.W. Kissam, Samuel R. Wilmot, and John Davol, with early work in brass and copper stock and finished metal goods.

    Sources: Bridgeport Brass Co., Plant #2 | Making Places

  2. Wartime shell-case production peaks

    The Bridgeport plant's wartime work included U.S. and British shell casings, with Preservation Connecticut reporting a documented workforce of 5,800 in 1941 and monthly shell-casing output reaching millions by October 1941.

    Sources: Bridgeport Brass Co., Plant #2 | Making Places

  3. Zuni rocket introduced

    Smithsonian's Zuni object page says the U.S. Navy Zuni was introduced around 1958 by the Hunter-Douglas Division of Bridgeport Brass Company as an improved 5-inch rocket successor to HVAR.

    Sources: NASM Zuni object page

  4. Riverside atomic-weapons-employer work documented

    A CDC/NIOSH residual-radioactivity appendix lists Hunter Douglas Aluminum Corp. at Riverside, California, also known as Bridgeport Brass Co., for 1959-1963 work that included uranium-stock extrusion and uranium-zirconium billet fabrication.

    Sources: CDC/NIOSH Residual Radioactivity Appendix A-2

  5. Bridgeport Brass becomes National Distillers division

    Preservation Connecticut states that Bridgeport Brass merged with National Distillers and Chemical Corp. in 1961 and continued operating under the Bridgeport Brass name as a division.

    Sources: Bridgeport Brass Co., Plant #2 | Making Places

Website links
NASM 5-inch FFAR Zuni objectNASM 2.75-inch FFAR Mighty Mouse objectBridgeport Brass Co., Plant #2 historic mill recordCDC/NIOSH Bridgeport Brass Company materials

Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. is a defunct U.S. manufacturer identity with no verified current official website. Public sources are strongest for Smithsonian object-level rocket attributions, Bridgeport Brass industrial history, and government records that connect Hunter Douglas Aluminum at Riverside with Bridgeport Brass.

Manufacturer Sources

  • NASM Zuni object pagePublisher: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Note: Supports the Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. manufacturer attribution, Zuni introduction around 1958 by the Hunter-Douglas Division of Bridgeport Brass Company, U.S. origin, Zuni object dimensions, and general Zuni background. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • NASM Mighty Mouse object pagePublisher: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Note: Supports the Hunter-Douglas Div., Bridgeport Brass Co. manufacturer attribution for a 2.75-inch FFAR Mighty Mouse object and the 2.75-inch rocket family context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Bridgeport Brass Co., Plant #2 | Making PlacesPublisher: Preservation Connecticut | Note: Supports Bridgeport Brass founding, Bridgeport industrial history, product lines, wartime shell-casing production, 1941 workforce figure, and the 1961 merger into National Distillers and Chemical Corp. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CDC/NIOSH Residual Radioactivity Appendix A-2Publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / NIOSH | Note: Supports Hunter Douglas Aluminum Corp. at Riverside, California, also known as Bridgeport Brass Co., the 1959-1963 period, and the documented extrusion and billet-fabrication work. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • ODIN Zuni 5-inch FFARPublisher: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command OE Data Integration Network | Note: Supports the Zuni 5-inch FFAR system background and identifies development by the Hunter-Douglas Division of Bridgeport Brass Company. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

2/2
2.75-inch rockets, Unguided 2.75-inch air-launched rocket family, Munitions1955 Vietnam War, 1990 Gulf War +4 more2.75-inch rocketsUnguided 2.75-inch air-launched rocket familyBuilt in: United StatesThe 2.75-inch rocket family covers the U.S. 70 mm unguided aerial rocket line from early FFAR/Mk 4 and Mk 40 rockets through the modern Hydra-70/Mk 66 system. Army and GD-OTS sources describe a modular air-launched rocket used with multiple warheads from fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, while official U.S. military sources document 2.75-inch rocket use from Vietnam and Desert Storm through Iraq, Afghanistan, Operation Inherent Resolve, and U.S. aid to Ukraine.
5-inch rockets, Unguided 5-inch rocket family, Munitions1955 Vietnam War, 2014 Russia-Ukraine War5-inch rocketsUnguided 5-inch rocket familyBuilt in: United StatesThe 5-inch rockets family covers U.S. unguided air rockets from the HVAR, also called Holy Moses, through the folding-fin Zuni 5-inch FFAR. Smithsonian and specialist references trace the family from wartime HVAR service to Zuni production and LAU-10 pod carriage, while conflict sources document Zuni rockets in Vietnam air-support missions and U.S. transfers of Zuni aircraft rockets to Ukraine after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion.