In early 1939, the head of the design office at Cessna Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, engineer Tom Selter, designed a twin-engine, five-seat aircraft of mixed construction. First flown that same year, the T-50 entered serial production at the Cessna plant the following year.
The aircraft attracted the interest of military authorities, and from 1940 the Cessna plant began mass production of the AT-8 and AT-17 trainers. The machine, being the company’s first twin-engine design, was equipped with Jacobs radial engines and received the name Bobcat. A total of 2,042 aircraft of all versions were built. The variant intended for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was built under the designation UC-78 and served for crew training and liaison flights.
After the war, a large number of these aircraft were sold as surplus to many countries. Poland purchased 21 examples at that time; all imported Cessnas came from wartime production. Fourteen examples were brought to airworthy condition, while the rest served as a source of spare parts.
PLL LOT operated Cessna Bobcats until 1949. Then the only aircraft not scrapped (SP-LEM) was transferred to the Institute of Aviation, where it received the registration SP-GLC and was used until 1962. In July 1953, record parachute jumps were made from its board, from altitudes of 4,800 and 4,600 m.
The Cessna UC-78 SP-GLC owed its longevity to “cannibalisation” of other aircraft of the same type. To commemorate this, a distinctive shark mouth motif was painted on the forward fuselage section. After being withdrawn from service in 1967, the UC-78 Bobcat SP-GLC was transferred to the Museum’s collection. It is currently displayed in the colours of the Institute of Aviation.
| Wingspan | 12.78 m |
| Length | 10.0 m |
| Takeoff weight | 2135 kg |
| Maximum speed | 314 km/h |
| Ceiling | 6000 m |
| Range | 1000 km |
| Armament | no fixed armament |
| Engine | two 7-cylinder radial air-cooled Jacobs R-755-9 with 245 hp (178 kW) output each |
