First flown in 1939, the Cessna T-50 was that company’s bid for a successful five-seat commercial transport typical of many other aircraft built in the late thirties. While the wings and tail unit were wood, the fuselage was a welded steel-tube design with fabric over wooden skinning. A low-wing cantilever monoplane, it featured a unique retractable tailwheel and wing trailing-edge flaps, both electrically actuated.

The need for a training plane to help pilots convert from single to twin-engine aircraft enabled Cessna to sell 550 aircraft for this purpose to Canada (Under the designation Crane), followed by 33 T-50’s to the U.S. Army Air Corps under the designation AT-8. In 1942, the USAAF felt the T-50s would work well as light personnel transports and for liaison/communication. 1,287 AT-17 Bobcats (later designated as UC-78s) were delivered and served in all theaters of war. Not to be outdone, the U.S. Navy in 1942-43 purchased 67 planes, which they designated JRC-1s, to ferry pilots between delivery ports and transport navy pilots to new duty stations. The T-50 served in these various roles for several years after the war. Over two dozen Bobcats still roam the skies of the USA, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand.