Dubbed the "Bamboo
Bomber" by the pilots who flew them, the
UC-78 was a military version of the
commercial Cessna T-50 light transport.
Cessna first produced the wood and tubular
steel, fabric-covered T-50 in 1939 for the
civilian market. In 1940 the U.S. Army Air
Corps ordered them under the designation
AT-8 as multi-engine advanced trainers.
Cessna built 33
AT-8s for the Air Corps and production
continued under the designation AT-17 to
reflect a change in equipment and engine
types. In 1942 the U.S. Army Air Forces
adopted the Bobcat as a light personnel
transport and designated those delivered
after Jan. 1, 1943, as UC-78s. By the end of
World War II, Cessna produced more than
4,600 Bobcats for the USAAF, 67 of which
were transferred to the U.S. Navy as JRC-1s.
In addition, Cessna produced 822 Bobcats for
the Royal Canadian Air Force as Crane 1s.
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