The history of Air Force One. Where every presidential plane is today

A couple of weeks ago, the United States Pentagon announced the Boeing  747-8 would be the next platform for Air Force One, replacing the ageing 747-200’s which were introduced in 1990.  That got me thinking – what happens to the old Air Force one planes?

I wondered; do they securely scrap them?  Like getting rid of secure documents – it happens not via your normal rubbish and recycling run.

These are not just any old aircraft, they are fitted out with kit that we couldn’t even begin to imagine, as a full working White House and command centre in the air.

As it turns out, if history repeats, the current Air Force One will end up in a museum or Presidential library somewhere.

With the help of the knowledgeable and highly qualified team at the Pentagon, EFTM has compiled a list of every US Presidential aircraft to date.

Douglas DC-4.

• The first official Presidential aircraft
• Military designation VC-54C
• Tail number 42-107451
• Named “The Flying White House” and “Sacred Cow.”
• Served Presidents Roosevelt and Truman.

Where to find it: on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

Douglas DC-6

• Military designation VC-118
• Tail number 46-505
• Named “The Independence” after President Truman’s home town.
• The aircraft sported an Eagle livery (paint design) and served President Truman.

Where to find it: on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

Lockheed L-749 Constellation (the first “Air Force One”)

• Military designation VC-121A
• Tail number 48-610
• Named “Columbine II” (after the state flower of Colorado)
• Served President Eisenhower.

Where to find it: in the Arizona desert at the Marana Regional Airport near Tucson, Arizona.

Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation

• Military designation VC-121E
• Tail number 53-7885
• Named “Columbine III” (again for the state flower of Colorado)
• Served President Eisenhower from November 1954 to the end of his Presidency.

Where to find it: on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

Douglas DC-6B

• Military designation VC-118A
• Tail number 53-3240
• Served President Kennedy as the Primary Presidential aircraft until the Boeing 707 aircraft tail number 26000 arrived and then was the Presidential backup aircraft.
• The Air Force stopped naming their aircraft. So this aircraft was unnamed.

Where to find it: on display at the Pima County Air Museum, Tucson Arizona.

Boeing 707

• Military designation VC-137C
• Tail number 26000
• Served Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.

Where to find it: on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.

Boeing 707

• Military designation VC-137C
• Tail number 27000
• Served Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush.

Where to find it: on display at the Reagan Presidential Library in California.

Boeing 747-200 (x2)

• Military designation VC-25A
• Tail numbers 28000 and 29000
• Arrived in 1990 and are still in service as the Presidential aircraft.
• To date they have served Presidents George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barak Obama.

Where to find it: Watch the TV news you’ll see President Obama getting around in it now and then:)