The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat or Cessna Crane is a twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and larger multi-engined combat aircraft. The commercial version was the Model T-50, from which the military versions were developed. 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, and was issued Approved type Certificate 722 on 24 March 1940. 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 225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4MB engines rated at 245 hp (183 kW) for takeoff. Production began in December 1939. Cessna had developed the T-50 as a 3-passenger mini airliner in the late 1930s, but it likely would have been a forgotten experiment if not for the training and light-transport needs of the U.S. Army during World War II. Over 5,000 frames were built and hundreds were made available after the war to civilian operators. Their radial engines were easy to maintain, and the lightweight framing of steel tubing, wood stringers, and fabric covering allowed for slow takeoff and landing speeds. It was a versatile and easy-to-fly aircraft that helped start many carriers in the 1940s and 1950s. For details of operational history and the large number of variants, click here.
