Cessna UC-78 Bobcat

Known to many as the ‘Bamboo Bomber’ due to its largely wooden construction, the Bobcat played a vital role in training multi-engine aircraft pilots during WWII.

Developed for the civilian market in the late 1930s, the T-50 family of aircraft spawned one of the nation’s most important, multi-engine trainers of WWII. The U.S. Army’s order for 33 AT-8 military variants on July 19, 1940 marked the service’s first contract for purpose-built, multi-engine trainers during their rapid expansion period prior to WWII. Total Army orders for the type grew to more than 3,500 by war’s end. Cessna completed the Museum’s Bobcat as construction number 5703 at their plant in Wichita, Kansas during January 1944. The Army accepted the aircraft as UC-78 serial number 43-31765 and ferried it via Dallas (Love Field) and Atlanta to Camp Stewart in Georgia.

Near the conclusion of WWII, 43-31765 was transferred to the 116th AAF Base Unit at Fort Dix, New Jersey for disposal. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) and the War Assets Administration logged the aircraft in their books on April 14, 1945 and sold it on July 5th.

Did You know?

Bamboo Bombers were sold off to the civilian market for between $1,500 and $3,000 after the war, depending on their engine times and airframe condition. So many were bought that the Civil Aeronautics Administration (forerunner to the FAA) approved a conversion kit for modifying them to conform with the type’s original T-50 civilian certification.

Specifications

Number Built: 5,422
Year Produced: 1943
Serial Number: 43-31765
Crew: (2) Pilot, Copilot, up to three passengers
Current Pilots:

Dimensions

Length: 32 ft. 9 in.
Wingspan: 41 ft. 4 in.
Empty Weight: 3,500 lbs.
Loaded Weight: 5,700 lbs.
Engine: 2x Jacobs R-755-9 seven-cylinder, air-cooled radial engines
Engine Power: 245 hp each

Performance

Cruising Speed: 175 mph
Max Speed: 195 mph
Range: 750 miles
Ceiling: 22,000 ft
Rate of Climb: 1,525 ft./min. initial

Armament

N/A – unarmed