Air Force One

Air Force One is the air traffic control call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two specifically configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft—tail numbers 28000 and 29000—with Air Force designation VC-25A. While these planes are only referred to as "Air Force One" while the president is on board, the term is commonly used to describe either of two aircraft normally used and maintained by the U.S. Air Force solely for the president.

History

Prior to World War II, overseas and cross-country presidential travel was rare. Lack of telecommunications and quick transportation made long-distance travel impractical, as it took up much time and isolated the President from events in Washington.

Related Topics:
World War II - Washington

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First of "Flying Presidents"

In the 1940s and 1950s, however, air travel became much more convenient. The first president to fly in an airplane while in office was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who traveled on a Boeing 314 "flying boat" aircraft to a 1943 conference in Casablanca on the progress of World War II. The main reason at the time for presidential air travel was the threat of the German Navy's U-boats in the Atlantic. The continuing threat from the submarines established air travel as a usual means of distance transportation for the President.

Related Topics:
1940s - 1950s - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Boeing 314 - 1943 - Casablanca - German Navy - U-boat - Atlantic - Submarine

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The first aircraft officially designated for Presidential flight was the C-87A Liberator Express, a reconfigured B-24 bomber. This plane was called Guess Where Two. However, the plane was no longer used for Roosevelt after another C-87A crashed; the Secret Service reconfigured a C-54 Skymaster as a replacement. This plane was nicknamed the Sacred Cow and included a sleeping area, radio telephone, and retractable elevator for Roosevelt's wheelchair. It carried the president to several important events, most notably the Yalta Conference. The Secret Service, not wishing to waste resources, instead put the C-87A plane to use by having Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt use it instead.

Related Topics:
C-87A Liberator Express - B-24 - Bomber - C-54 Skymaster - Wheelchair - Yalta Conference - Eleanor Roosevelt

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After Roosevelt died in spring 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became President. He replaced the C-54 with a modified C-118 Liftmaster, calling it the Independence, possibly in reference to President Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri. This was the first aircraft acting as Air Force One that had a distinctive exterior (an eagle head painted on its nose).

Related Topics:
1945 - Vice President - Harry S. Truman - C-118 Liftmaster - Independence - Missouri - Eagle

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The call signs were established for security purposes during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first American president to have been a pilot in his own right. The change stemmed from a 1953 incident where an Eastern Airlines commercial flight (8610) had the same call sign as a flight the President was on (Air Force 8610). The planes accidentally entered the same airspace, and after the incident the unique call sign "Air Force One" was made for the presidential aircraft.

Related Topics:
Dwight D. Eisenhower - 1953 - Eastern Airlines

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Eisenhower also introduced two other propeller aircrafts, the Lockheed C-121 Constellations (VC-121E) to Presidential service. These planes were named Columbine II and Columbine III by Mamie Eisenhower after the official state flower of Colorado, her adopted home state. President Eisenhower also upgraded Air Force Ones technology by adding an air-to-ground telephone and an air-to-ground teletype machine. Towards the end of Eisenhower's term, in 1958, the Air Force added three Boeing 707 jets into the fleet.

Related Topics:
Propeller - Lockheed C-121 Constellations - Mamie Eisenhower - State - Flower - Colorado - Teletype - 1958 - Boeing 707 - Jet

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Boeing 707s as Air Force One

With John F. Kennedy, presidential air travel officially entered the jet age. In 1962, he added a modified, long-range 707 to the fleet—SAM 26000. He also commissioned industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create a distinctive exterior for the plane. Loewy came up with a powder blue and white design, the same colors used today; he also had the words "United States of America" put on the fuselage's side and the U.S. flag painted on the tail. Because the aircraft would be solely for the use of the president, Kennedy asked that the Presidential seal be added to both sides of the nose.

Related Topics:
John F. Kennedy - 1962 - Industrial design - Raymond Loewy - Fuselage - U.S. flag - Presidential seal

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In late June 1963, Kennedy flew on SAM 26000 to Berlin, where he made his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, and to Ireland. A month earlier, it broke 30 speed records when carrying a delegation to Moscow, including the fastest non-stop flight between Washington and Moscow.

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On November 22, 1963, SAM 26000 carried President John F. Kennedy to Dallas, Texas, where early that afternoon he was assassinated. It was on the plane (while it was at Love Field) that Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office, and the plane carried Kennedy's body back to Washington. SAM 26000 flew over Arlington National Cemetery as Kennedy was being laid to rest.

Related Topics:
November 22 - 1963 - John F. Kennedy - Dallas - Texas - Assassinated - Love Field - Lyndon B. Johnson - Oath of office - Arlington National Cemetery

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SAM 26000 also carried Nixon on his historic trips to mainland China and to Russia in 1972. Later in 1972, SAM 26000 became the backup aircraft when another 707, SAM 27000, arrived.

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On January 22, 1973, LBJ died. Two days later, SAM 26000 brought the former president's body on one final journey to Washington, coming from Texas for the state funeral the following day. After the funeral, SAM 26000 brought his body on one final journey home, back to Texas for his burial, landing at Bergstrom AFB in Austin, the airfield Johnson flew into and out of when president. As the former president was laid to rest at his ranch, retired Brigadier General James Cross, pilot of SAM 26000 in Johnson's day, turned over the flag to his wife, Lady Bird, at her request. He also escorted her during the state funeral, also at her request. The role SAM 26000 played during the funeral made two points clear:

Related Topics:
January 22 - 1973 - State funeral - Bergstrom AFB - Lady Bird

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• It was the aircraft that LBJ used primarily when president.
• Most importantly, his family agreed to the public honors in Washington because so many others from around the world wanted to join in—40,000 paid their respects when the former president lay in state.

President Nixon dubbed the presidential airliner The Spirit of 1976, in recognition of the upcoming American bicentennial. In 1974, when Richard M. Nixon resigned the presidency and departed from Andrews AFB on Air Force One, it was arranged that the plane's call sign would switch from Air Force One to SAM (Special Air Mission) designation (SAM 27000). It was President Ford who first decided that the name of the aircraft itself should be Air Force One, along with the call sign.

Related Topics:
1974 - Richard M. Nixon - President Ford

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Transition to Boeing 747s

Ronald Reagan's two terms as President saw no major changes to Air Force One but the fabrication of the current 747s began. Most of the interior was completed in Wichita, Kansas. After many delays the aircraft were delivered in 1990, during the administration of George H.W. Bush.

Related Topics:
Ronald Reagan - Wichita - Kansas - 1990 - George H.W. Bush

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During Reagan's presidency came the most famous episode of former presidents on board. On October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. Because of security concerns, Reagan did not attend the funeral, nor did Bush, then-vice president. Instead, Reagan sent Secretary of State Alexander Haig and the living former presidents—Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter—to the funeral. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was on board. In 1987, Reagan flew on SAM 27000 to Berlin and made his famous "Tear down this wall!" speech.

Related Topics:
October 6 - 1981 - Anwar Sadat - Alexander Haig - Richard Nixon - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - U.S. Secretary of State - Henry Kissinger - 1987

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President George W. Bush added a treadmill to Air Force One. Bush was noted for going to the plane's pressroom to talk to reporters far less than his predecessors. In November 2003, there was a minor controversy when Air Force One's crew lied to the crew of a passing British Airways jet, informing them that the 416-ton 747 was a 45-ton Gulfstream V corporate jet, while transporting George W. Bush to Iraq to spend Thanksgiving with troops stationed there,1 though White House officials later denied this.2 In 2004, Bush lent a VC-25 to the family of the late former president Ronald Reagan to transport his casket to his state funeral and back to California for his burial.

Related Topics:
George W. Bush - Treadmill - November 2003 - British Airways - Gulfstream V - Iraq - Thanksgiving - 1 - 2004 - His state funeral - California

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One of the most dramatic episodes aboard Air Force One happened on September 11, 2001, when it flew President George W. Bush from Sarasota, Florida, where he was interrupted at an education event because of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Instead of returning to Washington, Bush flew to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, and then to the former Strategic Air Command (now United States Strategic Command) headquarters at Offut AFB in Nebraska, before returning to Washington. The following day, officials at the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice said that Bush did this because there was evidence "that the White House and Air Force One were targets."

Related Topics:
September 11 - 2001 - Sarasota - Florida - Terrorist attacks on New York and Washington - Barksdale AFB - Louisiana - Strategic Air Command - United States Strategic Command - Offut AFB - White House - U.S. Department of Justice

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Location of past planes that served as Air Force One

Aircraft which have formerly served as Air Force One are on display in the Presidential Hangar of the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio (Sacred Cow, Independence, Columbine III, SAM 26000, and other smaller Presidential aircraft), as well as the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington (earlier VC-137B). The Boeing 707 that served as Air Force One during the 1980s (SAM 27000) is at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, but is not yet on display. A Douglas VC-118A Liftmaster used by John F. Kennedy is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

Related Topics:
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Wright-Patterson AFB - Dayton - Ohio - Museum of Flight - Seattle - Washington - 1980s - Ronald Reagan Presidential Library - Douglas - Liftmaster - Pima Air & Space Museum - Tucson - Arizona

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The role Air Force One played in the two most recent state funerals—those of LBJ and Reagan—made two points clear:

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• Their families agreed to the public honors in Washington because so many others from around the world wanted to join in.
• Because of jets, both the final funeral and the burial services in honor of both of them (LBJ on January 25, 1973, and Reagan on June 11, 2004) were completed in one day, though they took place on different parts of the country.

New aircraft to fulfill the role of Air Force One may be acquired as soon as 2010, when the current 747s will be 20 years old.

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