The U.S. Army was searching for an aircraft that could adjust artillery fire, as well as perform liaison duties, and preferably be constructed of all metal, as the canvas covered Liaison aircraft used during World War II (primarily Stinson and Piper products) had a short service life. The US Army issued the specification for a two-seat liaison and observation monoplane and the Cessna Aircraft Company submitted the Cessna Model 305A, a development of the Cessna 170. The Cessna 305A was a single-engined, light-weight, strut-braced high-wing monoplane with a tailwheel landing gear. The greatest difference from the Cessna 170 was that the 305A only had two seats, in tandem configuration (the largest tandem-seat aircraft that Cessna ever produced), with angled side windows to improve ground observation. Other differences included a re-designed rear fuselage, providing a view directly to the rear (a feature later dubbed “Omni-View” and carried to Cessna single-engine aircraft after 1964), and transparent panels in the wings’ center-section (similar to those found on the Cessna 140 and the later Cessna 150 Aerobat model), which allowed the pilot to look directly overhead. A wider door was fitted to allow a stretcher to be loaded.
