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A friend sent this and I know there are some on here that like old planes.
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The Original Air Force One
- Thread starter Bob McElwee
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aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
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As a child, I came to North America (from Ireland) on a Connie.
Connies are beautiful aircraft.
There were a few other aircraft used before the "Air Force One" designation. The C-54 used by Roosevelt to take him from Gabon to Casablanca for the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 ended up being sold surplus and used by Capital Airlines as the "Capitaliner Washington".
There were a few other aircraft used before the "Air Force One" designation. The C-54 used by Roosevelt to take him from Gabon to Casablanca for the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 ended up being sold surplus and used by Capital Airlines as the "Capitaliner Washington".
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The first Roosevelt Casablanca flight was a Boing 314 flying boat. It was a private aircraft, not military. He flew in another before the Casablanca flight, possibly on a secret mission and the aircraft was a C-87 Liberator express, but I believe it was installed with regular seats just for that flight, not jump seats. Then came the Sacred Cow, first designated Air Force 1 and Columbine.
Boing 314 Roosevelt trip. View attachment 35480 C-87 Liberator express View attachment 35481
Boing 314 Roosevelt trip. View attachment 35480 C-87 Liberator express View attachment 35481
Hi Paul,
FDR took the 314 across the ocean, but once he got to West Africa, he boarded a C-54. I'll have to go dig up the pic, but there is a picture of a C-54 with a ramp that was built for FDR to access the plane. Capital also had a plaque mounted in the C-54 denoting the plane's role.
FDR took the 314 across the ocean, but once he got to West Africa, he boarded a C-54. I'll have to go dig up the pic, but there is a picture of a C-54 with a ramp that was built for FDR to access the plane. Capital also had a plaque mounted in the C-54 denoting the plane's role.
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Yup, Yup, I got the C-87 flight wrong as it was after the C-54 flight. Have no idea why the secret C-87 flight transpired and I guess we'll never know, but they had a reason for sure. I guess taking the Sacred Cow was to highly published for that mission. But his first flight to a conference was on the 314, just wasn't designated AF-1. Don't I get a couple points for that? :sorrow: :highly_amused:
Sacred Cow came later, it was fitted with a lift for FDR's wheelchair. This particular C-54 was just a run-of-the-mill MATS plane. IIRC, it was the 8th C-54 off the assembly line. I'll post a pic this evening.
Truman "inherited" the Sacred Cow after FDR's passing. He later got another C-54 of his own, the "Independence". Eisenhower had Columbine I, II and III. I'm pretty sure Columbine III is at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. I'm not sure what happened to Columbine I.
Truman "inherited" the Sacred Cow after FDR's passing. He later got another C-54 of his own, the "Independence". Eisenhower had Columbine I, II and III. I'm pretty sure Columbine III is at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. I'm not sure what happened to Columbine I.
