Miller Printing Machinery Company in World War Two
Pittsburgh, PA
1903-1988
1945-1976 Purchased by Commercial Credit of Baltimore, MD in 12-1945
1976-1980 Owned by Western Gear Corporation
1980-1988 Owned by Fritz Werner Industrie-Ausruestungen GmbH
1981 Renamed Miller Printing Equipment Corporation

This page updated 4-4-2023.

Ever since 2013, when I started investigating the different products manufactured by American Industry to help win World War Two, I was curious as to which company produced the 75mm recoilless rifle.  This weapon was introduced late in World War Two and saw most of its use in the Okinawa campaign.  The historical record of Oldsmobile Division of General Motors mentions possible production of the 75mm recoilless rifle, but that production never happened.  While visiting military museums over the years, I found several recoilless rifles on display, but the manufacturer of the weapon was never identified.

In June 2022, I made an online purchase of a book about companies that won the "E" award from the Pittsburgh, PA area, "To the Unsung Heroes of the Production Front" by Wallace Priest.  Browsing through the book, I found this on page 68:  "Miller Printing Machinery Company has already been mentioned for its development and production of the 75mm recoil-less rifle..."  This is the name of the company for which I had been looking for nine years.  With the company name now known, further research proceeded rapidly, resulting in this webpage.  Interestingly enough, the purchase of the book was not planned.  I was actually searching for a book on another topic when I found "To the Unsung Heroes of the Production Front."    

On July 13, 1945, the photo above appeared in the Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette along with a related article on Miller Printing Machine Company's production of what was described as a "kickless gun."   For years I had been searching for the manufacturer of the recoilless rifle, and within a few minutes of searching through online newspaper files, I found a photo of it being produced at the factory.  Recoilless rifle barrels on an assembly line can be seen in the background of the photo.

  The article also gave the address of the company as 1117 Reedsdale Street, in the North Shore section of Pittsburgh.  Further research of this location indicates it was very near the present day Three Rivers Stadium in downtown Pittsburgh.  Previous to the redevelopment and repurposing of the area along Reedsdale Street, there were several industrial companies including Carnegie Steel Company.  Currently, all of the old factories have been replaced by ball stadiums, casinos, and museums.

The Miller Printing Machinery Company won the Army-Navy "E" Award three times in World War Two.

Miller Printing Machinery Company World War Two Products:  In another reference to the Miller Printing Machinery Company in the "To the Unsung Heroes of the Production Front," it notes the company was an important supplier of M22 and M23 gun mounts.  These items were new to me, so I had to do some research to determine what they were.  My research found that the M22 gun mount was used in the M3 Stuart light tank and the M23 was utilized in the M3A1 and M5 Stuart tanks.  Table 1 shows that the company also made parts for the M44 mount, which was used in the M5A1.  While the proceeding gun mount listings in Table 1 do not indicate the type of mounts being made, it can be assumed that the company also produced the M44 mount as a complete unit for installation in the M5A1 light tank.

Miller Printing Machinery Company was cited in "To the Unsung Heroes of the Production Front," "...for its early and consistently outstanding production of gun mounts..."  No doubt this led to the three Army-Navy "E" Awards the company received during the war.

The company had $16,784,000 in major war contracts during World War Two.  Of this amount, $14,403,000 was for gun mounts and related components.  This was 86% of the total value of contracts.  Production of the gun mounts began in September 1940.

$2,403,000 worth of contracts were for the development and production of the 1,238 75mm recoilless rifles built by the company.  It was the sole supplier of the weapon in World War Two.

During World War Two the company employed approximately 1,000 employees to make the gun mounts and recoilless rifles.  This was over three times the number of employees the company had in 1939 before the war started.

Shown here is an M44 mount in an M5A1 Stuart light tank.  Miller Printing Machinery Company was instrumental in supplying these for the 6,810 M5A1s that were built.  Author's photo.

This M5A1 was on display at the 2014 St. Louis Airshow, which allowed for photos of the M44 gun mount inside the turret.  Author's photo.

 This M3A1 is on display at the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, IN.  The M3A1 light tanks were equipped with M23 gun mounts built by Miller Printing Machinery Company.  Author's photo.

75mm Recoilless Rifle:

There are several 75mm recoilless rifles on display at military museums.  This one is located at the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps.  The 75mm recoilless rifle was designed to be mounted on a .30 machine gun tripod.  Author's photo.

This 75mm recoilless rifle is on display at the Roberts Armory in Rochelle, IL.  The location of it in the museum allows for photographs from several different angles.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

This image shows the holes in the shell, which were designed to allow the gases to escape from the rear of the weapon, resulting in no recoil.  However, the escaping gases created a hazard for any troops behind the weapon.  The resulting smoke cloud also gave away the weapon's position to enemy forces.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.