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Air Force One

Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president and a metonym for the primary presidential aircraft, VC-25, although it can be used to refer to any Air Force aircraft the president travels on.[1][2]

For the current aircraft most commonly used as Air Force One, see Boeing VC-25. For the 1997 film, see Air Force One (film). For the Nike sneaker, see Nike Air Force. For other uses, see Air Force One (disambiguation).

The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the president arose during World War II when military advisors in the War Department were concerned about the risk of using commercial airlines for presidential travel. A C-54 Skymaster was then converted for presidential use; dubbed the Sacred Cow, it carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945 and was used for another two years by President Harry S. Truman.


The "Air Force One" call sign was created in 1953, after a Lockheed Constellation carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same flight number.[3] Since the introduction of SAM 26000 in 1962, the primary presidential aircraft has carried the distinctive livery designed by Raymond Loewy.[4][5]


Other aircraft designated as Air Force One have included another Lockheed Constellation, Columbine III, three Boeing 707s, introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, and the current Boeing VC-25As. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two highly customized Boeing 747-200B (VC-25A) aircraft.[4] The USAF has ordered two Boeing 747-8s to serve as the next presidential aircraft, with designation VC-25B.

 – military unit

1254th Air Transport Wing

 – Unit of US Air Force responsible for presidential and other top governmental official transport

89th Airlift Wing

 – Aircraft used by presidents and prime ministers

Air transports of heads of state and government

 – Air traffic control call sign of any US Army aircraft carrying the president of the United States

Army One

 – Air traffic control call sign for any U.S. Marine Corps aircraft carrying the U.S. President

Marine One

 – Call sign of US Navy aircraft transporting the President of the United States

Navy One

 – Car for the president of the United States

Presidential state car (United States)

VC-25 – Air Force One Fact Sheet on US Air Force site

SAM 26000 fact sheet on the National Museum of the United States Air Force site

Presidential Gallery, featuring Boeing VC-137C known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000

Air Force One page on WhiteHouse.gov

Facts and History of 707 as Air Force One and "Where they are Now?" on 707sim.com

Air Force One page on WhiteHouseMuseum.org

Air Force One Pavilion on ReaganFoundation.org

Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine

Truman Library & Museum

US Air Force image gallery

Air Force One page on Boeing site

Technical Order 00-105E-9, Segment 9, Chapter 7

Air Force One page on air-force-one.fr