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| VC-137C SAM 26000 "Air Force One" |
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| Role | Presidential transport |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| First flight | August 10, 1962 |
| Introduced | October 10, 1962 |
| Retired | March 24, 1998 |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | C-137 Stratoliner |
| Variants | VC-137C SAM 27000 |
26000 was the first of two Boeing VC-137C United States Air Force aircraft that were specifically configured and maintained for the use of the President of the United States. It used the callsign Air Force One when the President was on board, at other times it normally used the callsign SAM 26000. The VC-137C serial number 62-6000 was a customized version of the Boeing 707 which entered service in 1962 during the administration of John F. Kennedy. It was replaced in 1972, but kept as a backup. The aircraft was finally retired in 1998 and is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
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Operational history
SAM 26000 first entered service in 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration, and was the first aircraft in the United States designated solely for presidential purpose. The plane served as the primary means of transportation for three presidents: Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon during his first term. In 1972, during the Nixon administration, the plane was replaced by another 707, SAM 27000, although SAM 26000 was kept as a back-up plane until 1998.
Kennedy and Johnson
John F. Kennedy flew on SAM 26000 for only a single year, using other presidential aircraft occasionally. During the administration, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy enlisted the help of famed desiger Raymond Loewy to create a new livery for the aircraft, which resulted in the trademark Air Force One paint scheme of blue, silver, and white. In late June 1963, Kennedy flew on SAM 26000 to Berlin, where he delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, and to Ireland. A month earlier, it set the record for the fastest non-stop flight between Washington and Moscow. On November 22, 1963, SAM 26000 carried President John F. Kennedy to Dallas, Texas, where it served as the backdrop as President and Mrs. Kennedy greeted well-wishers at Dallas' Love Field. Later that afternoon, Kennedy was assassinated, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson assumed the job of president and took the oath of office aboard SAM 26000. At Johnson's request, the plane carried Kennedy's body back to Washington. It also flew over Arlington National Cemetery as Kennedy was being laid to rest, following 50 fighter jets. 1
Lyndon B. Johnson was SAM 26000's most frequent flyer, traveling more than 523,000 miles aboard it during his 5 years as president and even once called it "my own little plane." He flew twice to Vietnam and took tours of Asia in 1968 and 1969. The following year, he took one of the most bizarre presidential trips when he went around-the-world on a largely unplanned aerial odyessy, making stops in California, Hawaii, Australia, Thailand, South Vietnam, Pakistan, and the Vatican City. Significant alterations to SAM 26000 took place during the Johnson years. LBJ ordered new seats put in, and had them configured to face the rear of the plane where the presidential cabin was. Johnson had a spacious leather chair installed (dubbed by the Secret Service as "the throne"), as well as a crescent shaped table for himself in the presidential cabin. The president could lower or raise the table by means of a switch. Couches around "the throne" provided a place where presidential aides and guests were able to sit.
Nixon
Upon the inauguration of Richard Nixon in 1969, SAM 26000 was rendered to undergo a major revamping with repairs and upgrades. Nixon and his staff were offered a key role in the redesigning of the plane, a position they took up, and indeed, the finished plane reflected the new president's persona. The interior of the plane was stripped from the nose to the tail; all minor problems were taken care of; upgrades were made on the flight management system; communications gear was slightly modified. Richard Nixon had the interior of the plane redesigned to suit his fancy. Nixon did away with the open floor plan of the Johnson era and replaced it with a three-room suite for himself and his family, serving as a combinations of a lounge, office, and bedrooms. Behind the three rooms was where guests, aides, security, and media personnel sat. SAM 26000 served as Nixon's Air Force One until 1972, when a new 707 was introduced: SAM 27000. Although SAM 27000 took over as the primary means of transport for the president, Nixon preferred to fly on 26000 when his family accompanied him on flights, largely due to their preference of this historic craft. Nixon dubbed this plane and its sister plane the "Spirit of '76" and having that phrase painted on the two aircraft. The Nixons flew on SAM 26000 to China 1972, becoming the first American President and First Lady to visit that nation. (The original Peter Sellars production of John Adams' opera Nixon in China opens with a life-sized model of the plane "landing" on stage, the name "Spirit of '76" clearly visible on the side2.) SAM 26000 was also used by National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger during his secret meetings with the French to negotiate the Vietnam peace process. In December 1972, SAM 27000 took over as the primary presidential plane.
Missions after replacement
On January 22, 1973, Lyndon B. Johnson died. Two days later, SAM 26000 brought the former president's body to Washington, D.C., coming from Texas for the state funeral the following day. After the funeral, which Nixon himself presided over, the aircraft returned his body to Texas for burial, landing at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, the airfield Johnson flew into and out of when president. As the former president was interred at his ranch, retired Brigadier General James Cross, pilot of SAM 26000 during part of the Johnson presidency, presented the flag to Lady Bird Johnson at her request. He also escorted her, rather than Major General James Adamson, then commanding general of the Military District of Washington (MDW), during the state funeral, again, at her request. Most of this resulted from Mrs. Johnson agreeing to the public honors in Washington, though her husband died in Texas, because she felt so many others from around the world wanted to join in. Because of SAM 26000, the final services honoring LBJ on January 25 were completed in one day, despite taking place in different parts of the country.345
On October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. Because of security concerns, then-President Ronald Reagan did not attend the funeral. Instead, Reagan sent then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State Alexander Haig and the living former presidents—Nixon, Ford, and Carter—to the funeral, as well as former secretary of state Henry Kissinger. All of them flew aboard SAM 26000 when traveling to the funeral.
Former President Richard Nixon died on April 22, 1994 in New York City. SAM 26000 brought his body to the El Toro Marine Base in Orange County, California four days later. It was the same plane and airfield that Nixon flew into/out of while president. His body was then taken to the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace (now Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum) for a funeral service and burial.6"AviaitonModel Works", http://www.aviationmodelworks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=579.
The last time SAM 26000 carried a serving president was in January 1998 when Bill Clinton's Air Force One literally got stuck in the mud in Champaign, Illinois at University of Illinois Willard Airport.78 SAM 26000 was sitting at Grissom Air Reserve Base in Peru, Indiana, to serve as the backup Air Force One. SAM 26000 was quickly dispatched to Champaign to pick up Clinton.
Current status
In May, 1998 SAM 26000 was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. Its final flight was staged over the Museum grounds for the benefit of the media and Museum visitors. The aircraft circled the Museum several times at low altitude before finally landing on the original Wright Field airstrip alongside the Museum. The plane taxied to the Museum's restoration hangers and the crew disembarked, while members of the press explored the aircraft. After several months of work by the Museum's restoration staff the aircraft was placed on permanent display in the Museum's Presidential Hanger. The public can walk through the aircraft, which has been restored to its appearance during the Johnson administration.9
See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
References
- ^ Chapter 23 - The Last Salute
- ^ Review of Nixon in China from The Guardian, June 2006, including a photograph of "Spirit of '76" onstage: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1800858,00.html
- ^ Foley, Thomas J. "Thousands in Washington Brave Cold to say Goodbye to Johnson." The Los Angeles Times. January 25, 1973
- ^ Johnson, Haynes, and Witcover, Jules. "LBJ Buried in Beloved Texas Hills." The Washington Post. January 26, 1973
- ^ Provence, Harry. "Thousands Fill Capitol to Bid Lyndon Farewell." The Waco Tribune-Herald. January 25, 1973
- ^ Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation
- ^ Jamie McIntyre. First 'Air Force One' To Be Retired. CNN.com. Accessed December 19, 2006.
- ^ President's Plane Gets Stuck In The Mud. CNN.com. Accessed December 19, 2006.
- ^ Archives of the National Museum of the United States Air Force
The main source for this article is the following book:
- Hardesty, Von (2003). Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency. San Diego, California: Tehabi Books.
External links
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