The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat or Cessna Crane is a twin-engine advanced
trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during
World War II to bridge the gap between single-engine trainers and larger multi-engine combat aircraft. The commercial version was the Model T-50, from which the military versions were developed.
Design and development
In 1939, three years after
Clyde Cessna retired, the Cessna T-50 made its first flight, becoming the company's first twin-engine airplane, and its first
retractable undercarriage airplane. The prototype T-50 first flew on 26 March 1939,[1] and was issued Approved
Type Certificate 722 on 24 March 1940.[2]
The AT-8, AT-17, C-78, UC-78 and Crane were military versions of the commercial Cessna T-50 light transport. The
Cessna Airplane Company first produced the wood and tubular steel, fabric-covered T-50 in 1939 for the civilian market, as a lightweight and lower cost twin for personal use where larger aircraft such as the
Beechcraft Model 18 would be too expensive. A low-wing
cantilevermonoplane, it featured
retractable main landing gear and trailing edge wing
flaps, both electrically actuated via chain-driven screws. The retracted main landing gear left some of the wheels extended below the engine
nacelle for emergency wheel-up landings. The wing structure was built around laminated spruce spar beams,
truss-style spruce and plywood ribs, and plywood wing leading edges and wing tips. The fixed
tailwheel is not steerable, but can be locked straight. The Curtiss Reed metal fixed-pitch propellers were soon replaced with
Hamilton Standard 2B-20-213 hydraulically-actuated,
constant-speed,
non-featherable propellers. Power was provided by two 225 hp (168 kW)
Jacobs L-4MB engines rated at 245 hp (183 kW) for takeoff. Production began in December 1939.[3]: 35–36, 45–46
Operational history
US Military
On 19 July 1940,
United States Assistant Secretary of WarLouis A. Johnson ordered 33 AT-8 trainers, based on the T-50 for the
United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Modifications included cockpit roof windows, more powerful 290 hp (220 kW)
Lycoming R-680 engines and military radios. The first AT-8 was delivered to the USAAC in December 1940, and in late 1941, the US Army ordered an additional 450 AT-17s, based on the T-50. Modifications included additional cockpit windows and 245 hp (183 kW)
Jacobs R-755-9 engines.[3]: 36–41 Production for the U.S. Army Air Corps continued under the designation AT-17 reflecting a change in equipment and engine types. In 1942, the U.S. Army Air Force (the successor to the Air Corps from June 1941) ordered the Bobcat as a light transport as C-78s, which were redesignated as UC-78s on 1 January 1943. By the end of World War II, Cessna had produced more than 4,600 Bobcats for the U.S. Army, 67 of which were transferred to the
United States Navy as JRC-1s. It was given the nickname the "Bamboo Bomber" in US service. Few Bobcats were still in service with the United States Air Force when it was formed in September 1947, and the type was declared obsolete in 1949.[4]
Royal Canadian Air Force
In September 1940, the
Royal Canadian Air Force ordered 180 Crane Mk.I trainers, Cessna's largest order to date. Modifications for the RCAF included
Hartzell fixed-pitch wooden propellers, removable cylinder head baffles, and
oil heaters. The first Crane Mk.I was delivered to the RCAF in November 1940, and Cessna then received an additional order from the RCAF for 460 more Crane Mk.Is. An additional 182 AT-17A were received by the RCAF through lend-lease, operated under the designation Crane Mk.IA, bringing the total produced for the RCAF to 822, which were operated under the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).[5]
Other operators
In addition to military orders, the
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA, precursor to the FAA) ordered 13 T-50s, and
Pan American Airways ordered 14 T-50s. Aircraft operated by the US military and by the RCAF were retired shortly after the end of the war and many were exported worldwide including to
Brazil and the
Nationalist Chinese.
After the war, surplus AT-17s and UC-78s could be converted with CAA-approved kits to civilian-standard aircraft allowing their certification under the original T-50 approved type certificate.[2] They were used by small airlines, charter and bush operators, and private pilots. Some were operated on floats. By the 1970s, the number of airworthy aircraft had dwindled as they were made obsolete by more modern types and by the maintenance required by their aging wood wing structures and fabric covering. Since then, several have been restored by antique airplane enthusiasts.
As of December 2017, FAA records show 52 T-50s, two AT-17s, and five UC-78s listed on its registration database.[6][7][8]
Notable appearances in media
It was featured in the popular
television series Sky King of the early-to-mid 1950s.[3]: 44–45 The aircraft was replaced in later episodes by the T-50's successor, the all-metal
Cessna 310. One also stood in for Japanese twin engine bombers in the low level attack scene on the US PT boat base in the 1963 film, PT-109
experimental T-50 with more powerful 300 hp (220 kW)
Jacobs L-6MB engines, and plywood covered tailplane and wings, one built, first flown 2 June 1941.
P-10
1941 advanced bomber trainer with modified fuselage, sliding canopy and 330 hp (250 kW) Jacobs engines, one built.[9]
USAAC/USAAF designations
AT-8
Military advanced trainer with two 295 hp (220 kW)
Lycoming R-680-9 radial piston engines, 33 built.
AT-17
As per AT-8 but powered by 245 hp (183 kW)
Jacobs R-755-9 (L-4) engines, 450 built, some later converted to AT-17E.
AT-17A
As per AT-17 but with metal
propellers and reduced weight, 223 built. 182 to
Canada as Crane Mk.IAs and later conversions to AT-17Fs.
AT-17B
As per AT-17A but with equipment changes, wooden propellers and reduced weight, 466 built. Subsequent aircraft were built as UC-78Bs.
Jońca, Adam (1985). Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956 [Airplanes of the airlines 1945-1956]. Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4 (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności. p. 12.
ISBN8320605296.
Juptner, Joseph P (1994). U.S. Civil Aircraft Series, Vol.8. TAB Books.
ISBN0-816891788.
Milberry, Larry; Halliday, Hugh A. (1990). The Royal Canadian Air Force at War, 1939-1945. Toronto, ON: CANAV Books.
ISBN978-0921022046.
Mondey, David (2006). American Aircraft of World War II. Hamlyn Concise Guide. London, UK: Bounty Books.
ISBN978-0753714614.
Phillips, Edward H (1985). Cessna, A Master's Expression. Flying Books.
ISBN0911139044.
Shiel, Walt (1995). Cessna Warbirds, A Detailed & Personal History of Cessna's Involvement in the Armed Forces. Iola, WI: Jones Publishing.
ISBN978-1879825253.