This Military Service Page was created/owned by
AB Raymond Guinn
to remember
Cassity, James Shelby, Jr., Lt Gen USAF(Ret).
If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Gary, TX
Last Address Fair Oaks Ranch
Date of Passing Dec 30, 2008
Location of Interment Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery (VA) - San Antonio, Texas
I was stationed with Jim Cassity two times. At Hanscom AFB in Mass, he was the instructor that taught a class to incoming officers about the systems procurement process. He was very good. He was an L/C and worked for Gen Herres in the foreign military sales office. I was a Capt and had a car pool friend who worked in the same office as L/C Cassity. So I kept up with goings on in his office. This was in 1976 or 77.
In 1980, I was assigned to Hq AFCC at Scott and Col Cassity was the head of the Programs Office (EP). Gen Herres was the CC at the time. He was a very good boss. I loved some of his management saying like when a program wanted to rush a schedule he would say, "If you want it bad, you'll get it bad." That is so true. When he left Scott, I personally made his shadow box going away present from the Programs Division. It included a wood outline of the state of Ill. I spent many hours on it. I hope he liked it.
After he left, I moved to the Telephone Systems Office at Scott and he made a couple of stars and was head of all the communications units in Europe. I worked for a boss who was a real argumentative person. I decided that life was too short to put up with him so I retired. After that my old boss went to Europe to brief the telephone program to Gen Cassity and was a real butt with him. Cassity pick up hisphone and called the commander of AFCC. My old boss was fired before he got back to the states. Gen Cassity repaid the time I spent on his going away shadow box.
I really liked the man. By the way, at Scott he had a brick on his desk. The kind with 3 holes in it. It had a sign that said "Aggie bowling ball". I love that.
Miles Martin
Major USAF retired
1964-1967, C-46 Commando
From Year 1964
To Year 1967
Personal Memories
Not Specified
Image
C-46 Commando Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was an American transport aircraft originally designed for commercial use although it was primarily used during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces; the Navy/Marine Corps version was known as the R5C. Also known to the men who flew them as "The Whale," or even more irreverently as the "Curtiss Calamity," [2] the C-46 served a similar role as its counterpart, the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, but was not quite as famous or as extensively produced.
Postwar, C-46s were briefly used in their original role as passenger airliners, but the glut of surplus C-47s dominated the marketplace with the C-46 soon relegated to a secondary status. However, the C-46 was adopted as a rugged cargo aircraft for northern and remote locations with its service life extended into the 21st Century.
Model Curtiss-Wright C-46A Commando Length 76.44 ft | 23.30 m Width 78.54 ft | 23.94 m Height 21.75 ft | 6.63 m Engine(s) 2 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engines generating 2,000hp of thrust each. Empty Weight 30,001 lbs | 13,608 kg MTOW 55,997 lbs | 25,400 kg Max Speed 269 mph | 433 km/h | 234 kts Max Range 1,199 miles | 1,930 km Ceiling 27,559 ft | 8,400 m | 5.2 miles Climb Rate Not Available Hardpoints 0 Armament None. Accommodations 4 Operators the United States of America