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Cessna AT-17 Bobcat

{{short description|American WWII twin-engine advanced trainer aircraft}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}

{{Infobox aircraft

|name = AT-17/UC-78 Bobcat
Crane
Model T-50

|image = Cessna AT-17 (cropped).jpg

|type = Trainer, five-seat light transport and utility aircraft

|manufacturer = Cessna Aircraft Company

|first_flight = 26 March 1939 (T-50)

|introduction =

|status = retired

|primary_user = United States Army Air Forces

|more_users = Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Navy

|produced = 1939-1944

|number_built = 5,422

|variants =

|developed_into =

}}

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. Additional versions and names include the AT-8 trainer, UC-78 transport and bomber, and the Crane Mk.I in Canadian service.

Design and development

File:Cessna T-50 NC67094 (4722764164).jpg

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,Wixley, 1984, p.13 and was issued Approved Type Certificate 722 on 24 March 1940.Juptner, 1994, pp.85-88

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 cantilever monoplane, 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 {{cvt|225|hp}} Jacobs L-4MB radial engines rated at {{cvt|245|hp}} for takeoff. Production began in December 1939.Shiel, 1995, pp.15-16{{rp|35-36,45-46}}

Operational history

File:Cessna UC-78 Bobcat in flight.jpg

=US military=

On 19 July 1940, United States Assistant Secretary of War Louis 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 {{cvt|290|hp}} 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 {{cvt|245|hp}} Jacobs R-755-9 engines.{{rp|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. The Navy used the aircraft primarily for shuttling crews of ferry flights to and from their home bases.{{sfn|Swanborough|Bowers|1976|p=418}} The Bobcat was given the nickname "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.Swanborough, 1989, p.? {{Page needed|date=April 2021}}

=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).Phillips, 1985, p.? {{Page needed|date=April 2021}}

=Other operators=

File:Cessna T-50 Bobcat (11632 (cn 1632)) - 2.jpg 2008]]

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. 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.{{cite web|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=CESSNA&Modeltxt=T-50&PageNo=1|title=FAA Registry - Aircraft - Make / Model Inquiry|work=faa.gov|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807033133/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=CESSNA&Modeltxt=T-50&PageNo=1|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=CESSNA&Modeltxt=AT-17&PageNo=1|title=FAA Registry - Aircraft - Make / Model Inquiry|work=faa.gov|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807040957/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=CESSNA&Modeltxt=AT-17&PageNo=1|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=CESSNA&Modeltxt=UC-78&PageNo=1|title=FAA Registry - Aircraft - Make / Model Inquiry|work=faa.gov|access-date=11 June 2016|archive-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807031439/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=CESSNA&Modeltxt=UC-78&PageNo=1|url-status=dead}}

=Notable appearances in media=

It was featured in the popular television series Sky King of the early-to-mid 1950s.{{rp|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

Variants

=Company designations=

File:CessnaT-50 CAA NC-33 (5289547410).jpg

;T-50:fitted with Jacobs L-4MB radial piston engines.

;P-7: experimental T-50 with more powerful {{cvt|300|hp}} 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 {{cvt|330|hp}} Jacobs engines, one built.{{cite web|title=Cessna: P-10|url=http://www.aerofiles.com/_cessna.html|website=aerofiles|access-date=15 September 2018}}

=USAAC/USAAF designations=

File:Cessna AT-17 (1010445214).jpg

File:CessnaUC78C.jpg

;AT-8: Military advanced trainer with two {{cvt|295|hp}} Lycoming R-680-9 radial piston engines, 33 built.

;AT-17: As per AT-8 but powered by {{cvt|245|hp}} 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.

;AT-17C: As per AT-17A but different radio equipment, 60 built.

;AT-17D: As per AT-17C with equipment changes, 131 built.

;AT-17E: AT-17 with gross weight limited to {{cvt|5300|lb}}.

;AT-17F: AT-17A with gross weight limited to {{cvt|5300|lb}}.

;AT-17G: AT-17B with gross weight limited to {{cvt|5300|lb}}.

;C-78: Transport with variable-pitch propellers, became UC-78 in 1943, 1354 built.

;UC-78: C-78 redesignated in 1943

;UC-78A: 17 civilian T-50s impressed.

;UC-78B: AT-17B redesignated, 1806 built.

File:Cessna Crane 02.JPG Cessna Crane as used in the BCATP at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum]]

;UC-78C: AT-17D redesignated, 131 AT-17Ds redesignated and 196 built.

=US Navy designation=

;JRC-1: Navy light transport version of the UC-78 with two Jacobs -9 engines, 67 delivered.

=RCAF designations=

;Crane Mk.I: 640 T-50s with minor equipment changes.

;Crane Mk.IA: 182 AT-17As delivered to RCAF under lend-lease.

Operators

File:Cranebav.jpg

;{{BRA}}

;{{flag|Canada|1921}}

;{{CRI}}

;{{flag|Ethiopia|1897}}

;{{FRA}}

;{{GTM}}

;{{HTI}}

;{{NIC}}

;{{flag|North Yemen}}

;{{ROC}}

;{{PER}}

;{{POL}}

;{{USA}}

Surviving aircraft

File:UC-78 of the National WASP Museum.jpg

File:UC-78B “Bamboo Bomber” (49871626652).jpg

Specifications (AT-17)

File:Cessna AT-17 Bobcat 3-view line drawing.png

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=

|prime units?=imp

|crew=pilot + four

|length m=9.98

|span m=12.78

|height m=3.02

|wing area sqft=295

|empty weight lb=3,500

|gross weight lb=5,700

|max takeoff weight lb=6,062

|eng1 number=2

|eng1 name=Jacobs R-755-9

|eng1 type= seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial piston engine

|eng1 hp=245

|max speed mph=195

|cruise speed mph=175

|stall speed mph=63-66

|range miles=750

|ceiling ft=22000

|climb rate ftmin=1150

|more performance=

  • Take-off run: {{cvt|650|ft}} to {{cvt|50|ft}}At a gross weight of {{cvt|5200|lb}}
  • Landing run: {{cvt|1400|ft}} from {{cvt|50|ft}} with a {{cvt|90|mph}} approach speed

}}

See also

{{Portal|Aviation}}

{{aircontent|

|related=

|similar aircraft=

|lists=

|see also=

}}

References

{{Commonscat}}

=Notes=

{{Reflist|group=note}}

=Citations=

{{Reflist}}

=Bibliography=

  • {{cite book|last=Bridgman|first=Leonard|title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1952–53|location=London, UK|publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co.|year=1952|asin=B000S9SYD8}}
  • {{cite magazine|title=Cessna Model T-50|magazine=Aviation|date=January 1940|volume=39|issue=1|pages=46–47|url=http://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19400101#!&pid=46|url-access=registration}}
  • {{cite book|last=Jońca|first=Adam|title=Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956|trans-title=Airplanes of the airlines 1945-1956|language=pl|series=Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.4|publisher=Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności|location=Warsaw|year=1985|isbn=8320605296|page=12}}
  • {{cite book|last=Juptner|first=Joseph P|title=U.S. Civil Aircraft Series, Vol.8|publisher=TAB Books|year=1994|isbn=0-816891788}}
  • {{cite book|last1=Milberry|first1=Larry|last2=Halliday|first2=Hugh A.|title=The Royal Canadian Air Force at War, 1939-1945|publisher=CANAV Books|location=Toronto, ON|year=1990|isbn=978-0921022046}}
  • {{cite book|last=Mondey|first=David|title=American Aircraft of World War II|series=Hamlyn Concise Guide|location=London, UK|publisher=Bounty Books|year=2006|isbn=978-0753714614}}
  • {{cite book|last=Phillips|first=Edward H|title=Cessna, A Master's Expression|publisher=Flying Books|year=1985|isbn=0911139044}}
  • {{cite book|last=Shiel|first=Walt|title=Cessna Warbirds, A Detailed & Personal History of Cessna's Involvement in the Armed Forces|date=1995 |publisher=Jones Publishing|location=Iola, WI|isbn=978-1879825253}}
  • {{cite web|last=Skaarup|first=Harold A.|title=Warplanes of the Second World War preserved in Canada|url=https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/warplanes-of-the-second-world-war-preserved-in-canada|work=www.SilverHawkAuthor.com|date=6 February 2020|access-date=16 October 2022}}
  • {{cite book|last1=Swanborough|first1=Gordon|last2=Bowers|first2=Peter M.|title=United States Military Aircraft Since 1909|publisher=Putnam|year=1989|isbn=085177816-X}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Swanborough |first1=Gordon |last2=Bowers |first2=Peter M. |date=1976 |title=United States Navy Aircraft since 1911 |edition=2nd |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-87021-968-5}}
  • {{cite magazine|last=Wixley|first=Kenneth E.|title=Cessna Bobcat: A Production History|magazine=Aircraft Illustrated|date=January 1984|volume=17|number=1|pages=13–16|issn=0002-2675}}

{{Cessna aircraft}}

{{USAF trainer aircraft}}

{{USAF transports}}

{{USN utility aircraft}}

AT-17

Category:1930s United States civil utility aircraft

Category:1940s United States military trainer aircraft

Cessna UC-78

Category:Low-wing aircraft

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1939

Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear

Category:Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft