Manufacturer catalog

U.S. Hoffman Machinery Corporation

U.S. Hoffman Machinery Corporation was a U.S. industrial machinery company whose Poughkeepsie, New York plant shifted from commercial laundry and dry-cleaning equipment into projectile production during World War II, then later operated the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant during the first decade of that government-owned projectile facility.

2 weapons

Marist University's U.S. Hoffman records describe the company as the successor to a Syracuse steam-pressing-machine business founded in 1904. By the 1930s it was a major U.S. producer of laundry and dry-cleaning machinery, with a Poughkeepsie plant opened in 1936 for commercial and industrial equipment before wartime production changed the plant's work.

During World War II, the Poughkeepsie plant converted to munitions production, especially 40 mm anti-aircraft projectiles for Bofors guns. The Marist archive states that projectile production ran from about June 1942 to August 1945 and that nearly 15 million projectiles were shipped in a little over three years. The plant also produced 5-inch Navy shells at a South Water Street site in Poughkeepsie until about 1955.

After the Korean War mobilization period, U.S. Hoffman became the first operating contractor for the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant. U.S. Army and Joint Munitions Command sources say SCAAP was established in 1953, manufactured large-caliber steel projectiles, and was operated by U.S. Hoffman until Chamberlain Manufacturing Corporation took over in 1963.

40 mm anti-aircraft projectiles5-inch naval shellslarge-caliber artillery projectile metal partsgovernment-owned, contractor-operated ammunition plant operationsindustrial laundry and dry-cleaning machinery

Notable Systems

M106 203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile, 203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile, Munitions

M106 203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile

203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile

The U.S. Army Cold War ammunition-production study says Scranton's converted production lines began in December 1953 with 8-inch M106 and 155 mm M107 projectiles under U.S. Hoffman operation.

Sources: Army ammunition production during the Cold War
40 mm Bofors projectile, 40 mm anti-aircraft gun projectile, Munitions

40 mm Bofors projectile

40 mm anti-aircraft gun projectile

Marist University's Hoffman archive says the Poughkeepsie plant converted to projectile production for 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns during World War II and shipped almost 15 million projectiles.

Sources: Marist U.S. Hoffman wartime production

Manufacturer History

  1. Hoffman machinery lineage begins

    Marist's collection history says U.S. Hoffman was the successor to the Hoffman Pressing Machine Company, a Syracuse business that began around a foot-operated steam pressing machine in 1904.

    Sources: Marist U.S. Hoffman records

  2. Poughkeepsie plant opens

    Marist records say U.S. Hoffman opened a Poughkeepsie plant at 18 Violet Avenue in 1936 while retaining its main Syracuse plant.

    Sources: Marist U.S. Hoffman records

  3. 40 mm projectile production begins

    The Poughkeepsie plant began producing 40 mm anti-aircraft projectiles around June 1942 after shifting away from mobile laundry equipment and commercial machinery.

    Sources: Marist U.S. Hoffman wartime production

  4. World War II projectile run ends

    Marist records say projectile production continued until August 1945 and shipped almost 15 million projectiles in a little over three years.

    Sources: Marist U.S. Hoffman wartime production

  5. Scranton plant operation begins

    Army and Joint Munitions Command sources say the Army established the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in 1953 and U.S. Hoffman became its first operating contractor.

    Sources: JMC SCAAP fact sheet, Army Scranton article

  6. Scranton contract transfers

    The JMC fact sheet and Army reporting say Chamberlain Manufacturing Corporation became the Scranton operating contractor in 1963, ending U.S. Hoffman's operation of the facility.

    Sources: JMC SCAAP fact sheet, Army Scranton article

Predecessors
Hoffman Pressing Machine Company
Successors
Chamberlain Manufacturing Corporation
Website links
Marist U.S. Hoffman archiveScranton Army Ammunition Plant fact sheetLibrary of Congress HAER record

U.S. Hoffman was a private industrial machinery company with wartime and Cold War ammunition-production roles rather than a surviving defense prime. Public sources are strongest for the Poughkeepsie wartime plant and the Scranton government-owned, contractor-operated facility; headquarters coordinates are omitted because the current sources do not establish a single reliable headquarters location.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Marist U.S. Hoffman recordsPublisher: Marist University Archives and Special Collections | Note: Supports the company's origins as successor to Hoffman Pressing Machine Company, Syracuse and Poughkeepsie plant context, prewar laundry and dry-cleaning machinery business, and archival collection scope. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Marist U.S. Hoffman wartime productionPublisher: Marist University Archives and Special Collections | Note: Supports World War II production of 40 mm Bofors projectiles, the June 1942 to August 1945 production period, nearly 15 million shipped projectiles, and 5-inch Navy shell work in Poughkeepsie. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Marist U.S. Hoffman Army-Navy E AwardPublisher: Marist University Archives and Special Collections | Note: Supports the Poughkeepsie plant's Army-Navy E Award with two subsequent stars and approximate wartime employment of 600 people. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • JMC SCAAP fact sheetPublisher: U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command | Note: Supports Scranton Army Ammunition Plant's mission, address, 1953 establishment, U.S. Hoffman operation until 1963, Chamberlain succession, government-owned contractor-operated status, and present large-caliber projectile manufacturing capabilities. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Army ammunition production during the Cold WarPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Supports U.S. Hoffman supervision of the Scranton plant conversion, December 1953 production start, initial M106 and M107 projectile lines, 175 mm expansion, monthly output scale, commercial-grade steel experimentation, and transfer to Chamberlain in 1963. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Army Scranton articlePublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Supports the Army's acquisition of the former DL&W facility in 1953, U.S. Hoffman as the first contractor, large-caliber steel projectile production, and Chamberlain's 1963 succession. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Library of Congress SCAAP HAER recordPublisher: Library of Congress | Note: Supports U.S. Hoffman as a related name for the Historic American Engineering Record documentation of Scranton Army Ammunition Plant and the site's historic industrial context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • SCAAP projectile production imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the public-domain image provenance for the Scranton projectile-production image used on this manufacturer page. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

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

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40 mm Bofors projectile, 40 mm anti-aircraft gun projectile, Munitions40 mm Bofors projectile40 mm anti-aircraft gun projectileBuilt in: United StatesThe 40 mm Bofors projectile covers the shell/projectile component used in Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft ammunition, with sourced coverage centered on wartime high-explosive tracer projectile construction and U.S. Hoffman Machinery Corporation's World War II production. Marist University Archives says Hoffman's Poughkeepsie plant converted to 40 mm anti-aircraft projectile production around June 1942 and shipped almost 15 million projectiles by August 1945.
M106 203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile, 203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile, Munitions2014 Russia-Ukraine WarM106 203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile203 mm high-explosive fragmentation projectileBuilt in: United StatesThe M106 is a U.S. 8-inch, or roughly 203 mm, high-explosive fragmentation projectile built for American heavy artillery such as the M110. Open munition references describe a nose-fuzed, boat-tailed steel shell with TNT or Composition B filling, while Ukrainian and defense-reporting sources document M106 projectiles being adapted to Ukrainian 2S7 Pion guns during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War as Soviet-pattern 203 mm stocks became scarce.