Cass S. Hough

Army Air Corps commission in 1938

Active-duty service beginning in 1940

Service with the Eighth Air Force

Return from overseas in October 1945

Rank through most of his military service was Lt. Col then Colonel.

 

Cass S. Hough: Plymouth's Aviation Pioneer and American Hero

Some people leave a mark on their hometown. Others help change history.

 

Few Plymouth natives accomplished both as profoundly as Colonel Cass S. Hough, a hometown son whose courage, innovation, and leadership helped shape the outcome of World War II and forever changed military aviation.

 

Born and raised in Plymouth, Hough came from a family whose impact on our community remains visible today. The Hough family helped develop Hough Park, one of Plymouth's cherished public spaces and a lasting reminder of their commitment to the city they loved.

 

Colonel Hough's greatest legacy, however, came thousands of miles from home and high above the battlefields of Europe.

 

As a pioneering fighter pilot and test pilot, Hough helped transform the Lockheed P-38 Lightning into one of the most successful American fighter aircraft of World War II. When early versions of the aircraft experienced dangerous failures in high-speed dives, Hough personally risked his life to solve the problem.

 

In an extraordinary test flight over England, he deliberately pushed his Lightning into an experimental dive at speeds approaching 800 miles per hour, entering an area of flight that no pilot had ever explored. With only seconds to spare before disaster, Hough discovered the solution that allowed pilots to recover from these deadly dives, saving countless lives and turning the P-38 into one of America's most formidable combat aircraft.

 

His daring and scientific brilliance helped the Lightning dominate enemy fighters and contribute significantly to Allied air superiority during World War II.

For his service and heroism, Colonel Hough received numerous military honors, including:

 

• Distinguished Flying Cross
• Legion of Merit
• Air Medal with Six Oak Leaf Clusters
• Six Battle Stars
• Belgian Croix de Guerre

 

His accomplishments reflected the very best of Plymouth's values: courage, ingenuity, perseverance, and service to others.

After the war, Cass Hough returned to Plymouth and became owner of the famed Daisy Manufacturing Company, helping guide the iconic Daisy air rifle brand that generations of Americans would come to know and enjoy.

 

He also shared his remarkable life story through his memoir, "It's a Daisy," preserving both his family's history and his own extraordinary journey from a Plymouth kid to one of America's most respected aviation pioneers.

 

Colonel Cass S. Hough proved that greatness can begin in a small hometown and reach around the world.