Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Light utility transport

Power Plant:

Two 183 kw (245 hp) Jacobs L4MB seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

History:

Affectionately known as the Bamboo Bomber, Cloth Moth, and Double-breasted Stearman, the Cessna Bobcat, known as the Crane in RCAF service, was built by the Cessna Aircraft Company at Wichita, Kansas, some 5,402 examples being completed.

Originally built as a twin-engined light transport for the civil market, the prototype T-50 was first flown on 26 March 1939. However, because of the imminence of war, it was built for military service as a twin-engine trainer under a variety of appellations, including AT-8, AT-17, C-78 and UC-78 for the USAAC/USAAF; and as the JRC-1 with the US Navy.

Some 820 saw service as the Cessna Crane with the RCAF. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) was set up in 1939 and the Bobcat was selected as an interim trainer for the RCAF Flying Schools until the production of the Avro Anson in Canada got underway.

The fuselage framework was steel tube and the wings of wood, the whole aircraft covered with fabric. A variety of engines was installed, including the 183 kw (245 hp) Jacobs L4MB seven-cylinder radial and the 216 kw (290 hp) Lycoming R-686-9 nine-cylinder radial. The retractable undercarriage was an electrically-activated chain-driven system with an emergency hand-crank.

The type over the years saw service with a number of civil operators, including six the US Civil Aeronautics Authority and 14 with Pan American World Airways for services in Guatemala.

After World War II thousands of ex-military T-50s flooded the market and were used as multi-engine trainers and personal transports. However, there were problems with the wingspar. It was found during military service water ran down the fuselage and seeped through gaps in the wing root fairings, causing the spars to rot. Cessna developed a spar-face of mahogany to solve the problem and the aircraft so equipped was permitted to operate to a maximum gross weight of 2,586 kg (5,700 lb).

A few have survived as warbirds in the United States and Canada. Twelve are known to be airworthy and another 20 are under restoration or in museums.

Two were imported to New Zealand. It seems after World War II the New Zealand Government bought a shipload of war assets from the Pacific area, and included were two Cessna Bobcats which had been used as communications aircraft in the Pacific region during the war by the US services. They had never been hangared and spent most of their lives in the tropics in the open. Records show that Certificates of Airworthiness were issued to two Cessna Bobcats ZK-ARS (c/n AC.3668 – ex 42-58176) and ZK-ART (c/n AC.3667 – ex 42-58177) which were registered on 27 April 1950. One had artwork ‘Forever Amber’ on the nose.

In 1948 Aircraft Service (NZ) at Mangere took delivery of the two Bobcats on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority. They were shipped from Fiji on the vessel ‘Wanganella’ and prepared for civil service, eventually to be based in Wellington. A number of flights were made by the local CAA surveyor with staff. However, when the delivery pilot from the Public Works Department prepared to fly the first aircraft to Wellington he found a section of fabric had come adrift from near one of the engines. Repairs were effected and the aircraft was flown to Paraparaumu. However, there it was found the flaps were jammed. The next day the aircraft continued on to Wellington and was delivered to de Havilland for a major overhaul. Subsequently it was found the centre-section spars were water damaged and, as the cost of repair was too great, it was decided to scrap the aircraft. It was shipped back to Mangere through Onehunga and for many years the one-piece wing hung on the wall of a hangar.

The second aircraft was stored in the open for many years and broken up around 1952. One of the Jacobs engines was used to replace the Continental radial in the Auckland Aero Club Beech 17, the original Jacobs unit having been replaced by a Continental radial from a Sherman tank during World War II. It is believed the remains of these aircraft, three of their engines, and other aircraft parts were buried near Mangere Airport.