Boeing VC-137C "Air Force One"--Kennedy Visit 1963
Though the USAF had procured hundreds of KC-135 Stratotankers and C-135 variants, these were based on the Boeing 367-80 “Dash 80” technology demonstrator—the Boeing 707 airliner came along after the tanker versions, which Boeing briefly designated 717. As a result, the USAF did not really need to buy the 707 airliner. The USAF settled for buying only three 707-150s, designating them VC-137As and using them as Presidential support aircraft. Though President Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to enter the jet age when he flew VC-137As during a trip to Asia in 1959, he had flown in the piston-engined C-121 Constellation during most of his Presidency.
After being elected in 1960, President John F. Kennedy wanted to project an image of a youthful Presidency and nation, and therefore piston-engined Presidential transports were obsolete—Kennedy intended to enter the jet age from day one. The USAF duly ordered a special-build VC-137C, based on the long-range 707-320, which would allow Kennedy to fly nonstop to Europe. Designated Special Air Mission 26000 (SAM 26000), Kennedy, with the help of his wife Jacqueline and designer Raymond Loewy, designed the unique scheme the aircraft would carry, feeling that the bare-metal used by Eisenhower’s VC-137As was too plain.
SAM 26000 entered service in 1962, with an interior naturally different than the standard 707-320, with a more plush interior, an enclosed office for the President, and seating for the press corps and the Secret Service; a more robust communications suite was added to keep the President in contact with Washington DC at all times, though it was not considered per se an airborne command post. Kennedy first used SAM 26000 on his historic visit to Berlin in 1962. Tragically, it would later bear Kennedy’s body back to Washington following his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963; Lyndon Johnson would take the oath of office aboard the aircraft. Johnson had the interior redesigned to provide better access to the press; when Richard Nixon became President in 1968, he also redesigned the interior.
To supplement SAM 26000, a second VC-137C was procured in 1972, SAM 27000. Both aircraft were still used by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, but SAM 27000 flew the bulk of the missions; Reagan flew the most and the longest distance of any President aboard the latter aircraft. Because the VC-137s were aging and the 707 itself considered an obsolete aircraft, Reagan authorized the acquisition of two 747-200s (designated VC-25s) to replace them in 1990. Nonetheless, both VC-137s remained in service as backup aircraft for Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush; SAM 26000 was retired in 1998 and put on display at the National Museum of the USAF, whereas SAM 27000 remained in service until 2001 and was placed on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Considering this picture was taken on 26 September 1963, the slide quality is remarkably good. Bary Poletto took this picture of SAM 26000 during Kennedy's visit to Great Falls, Montana. Kennedy himself was on the way back to the airport from giving his speech when the picture was taken, so he's not in the picture. The aircraft behind 26000 is a backup aircraft, another VC-137; though it carries the same titles as SAM 26000, the red cockpit top gives it away as a VC-137B.
It's a remarkable snapshot of history, and both a unique and tragic one--less than two months after this picture was taken, Kennedy was assassinated.
Boeing VC-137C "Air Force One"--Kennedy Visit 1963
Though the USAF had procured hundreds of KC-135 Stratotankers and C-135 variants, these were based on the Boeing 367-80 “Dash 80” technology demonstrator—the Boeing 707 airliner came along after the tanker versions, which Boeing briefly designated 717. As a result, the USAF did not really need to buy the 707 airliner. The USAF settled for buying only three 707-150s, designating them VC-137As and using them as Presidential support aircraft. Though President Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to enter the jet age when he flew VC-137As during a trip to Asia in 1959, he had flown in the piston-engined C-121 Constellation during most of his Presidency.
After being elected in 1960, President John F. Kennedy wanted to project an image of a youthful Presidency and nation, and therefore piston-engined Presidential transports were obsolete—Kennedy intended to enter the jet age from day one. The USAF duly ordered a special-build VC-137C, based on the long-range 707-320, which would allow Kennedy to fly nonstop to Europe. Designated Special Air Mission 26000 (SAM 26000), Kennedy, with the help of his wife Jacqueline and designer Raymond Loewy, designed the unique scheme the aircraft would carry, feeling that the bare-metal used by Eisenhower’s VC-137As was too plain.
SAM 26000 entered service in 1962, with an interior naturally different than the standard 707-320, with a more plush interior, an enclosed office for the President, and seating for the press corps and the Secret Service; a more robust communications suite was added to keep the President in contact with Washington DC at all times, though it was not considered per se an airborne command post. Kennedy first used SAM 26000 on his historic visit to Berlin in 1962. Tragically, it would later bear Kennedy’s body back to Washington following his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963; Lyndon Johnson would take the oath of office aboard the aircraft. Johnson had the interior redesigned to provide better access to the press; when Richard Nixon became President in 1968, he also redesigned the interior.
To supplement SAM 26000, a second VC-137C was procured in 1972, SAM 27000. Both aircraft were still used by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, but SAM 27000 flew the bulk of the missions; Reagan flew the most and the longest distance of any President aboard the latter aircraft. Because the VC-137s were aging and the 707 itself considered an obsolete aircraft, Reagan authorized the acquisition of two 747-200s (designated VC-25s) to replace them in 1990. Nonetheless, both VC-137s remained in service as backup aircraft for Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush; SAM 26000 was retired in 1998 and put on display at the National Museum of the USAF, whereas SAM 27000 remained in service until 2001 and was placed on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Considering this picture was taken on 26 September 1963, the slide quality is remarkably good. Bary Poletto took this picture of SAM 26000 during Kennedy's visit to Great Falls, Montana. Kennedy himself was on the way back to the airport from giving his speech when the picture was taken, so he's not in the picture. The aircraft behind 26000 is a backup aircraft, another VC-137; though it carries the same titles as SAM 26000, the red cockpit top gives it away as a VC-137B.
It's a remarkable snapshot of history, and both a unique and tragic one--less than two months after this picture was taken, Kennedy was assassinated.