List of official vehicles of the president of the United States

This is a list of official vehicles of the president of the United States, past and present.

State vehicles[]

• 1939 Lincoln K-series Sunshine Special, used by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1942 Lincoln Custom, used by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
• 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan, used by Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum, this vehicle was the first to use a bulletproof "bubbletop" canopy, which was added in 1954. The car remained in service until 1967.
• 1961 Lincoln Continental SS-100-X, used by John F. Kennedy. Currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum.
• 1965 Lincoln Continental, used by Lyndon B. Johnson.
• 1969 Lincoln Continental, used by Richard Nixon.
• 1972 Lincoln Continental, used by Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. It was ordered as a 1970 model (it has a 1970 serial number) with the 1972 body style, and updated later to match 1977-1979 models. It was involved in the 1975 assassination attempt of President Ford, as well as the 1981 assassination attempt of President Reagan. It is currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum.
• 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, used by Ronald Reagan.
• 1989 Lincoln Town Car, used by George H.W. Bush.
• 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood, used by Bill Clinton. This was the first Cadillac that was designed from the ground up for use as a state car. Previous models were modified production units. It is on display at the Clinton Presidential Library.
• 2001 Cadillac de Ville used by George W. Bush
• 2005 Cadillac DTS Presidential State Car, used by George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
• 2009 Cadillac "Cadillac One", used by Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
• 2011 Ground Force One, a Prevost Car chassis-based bus used by Barack Obama.
• 2018 Cadillac used by Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Road & Track reported that "the design appears to be a simple evolution of the old model with more current Cadillac design cues, like an Escalade sedan. It weighs between 15,000–20,000 pounds. (6,800–9,100 kg).

Yachts[]

• USS Despatch (1873? – 1891), the first presidential yacht; lost off Virginia in 1891^[1]
• USS Dolphin (1897 – 1920), used by William McKinley and later Theodore Roosevelt^[1]
• USS Sylph (1902 – 1929)
• USS Mayflower (1905 – 1929), used by every president from Theodore Roosevelt to Calvin Coolidge.
• USS Sequoia (1931 – 1977), used by every president from Herbert Hoover to Jimmy Carter, who ordered the aging yacht sold in 1977
• USS Potomac (1936 – 1945), used by Franklin D. Roosevelt
• USS Williamsburg (1945 – 1953), used by Harry S. Truman. Dwight D. Eisenhower retired it as a "symbol of needless luxury".
• a yacht variously named:^[2]
  • Lenore II. Truman used it as a tender for the Williamsburg.
  • Barbara Anne, by Eisenhower.
  • Honey Fitz, by John F. Kennedy. The name was retained by Lyndon B. Johnson.
  • Patricia, by Richard Nixon. It was sold in 1970 to a private individual.
• United States Coast Guard cutter/yacht Manitou, chosen by Kennedy in 1962;^[3] sold in 1968 to the Harry Lundeburg School of Seamanship.^[4]

Aircraft[]

Although "Air Force One" is commonly used to refer to the president's primary aircraft, the designation is, strictly speaking, a call sign used to identify any U.S. Air Force aircraft the president is aboard. (See below.)

Aircraft used as the primary presidential aircraft:

• Sacred Cow, VC-54C used by presidents Roosevelt and Truman from 1945 to 1947.
• Independence, VC-118A (46-505) used by presidents Truman and Eisenhower from 1947 to 1953.
• Columbine II, VC-121A (48-0610) used by President Eisenhower from 1953 to 1954.
• Columbine III, VC-121E (53-7885) used by President Eisenhower from 1954 to 1959.
• SAM 970, VC-137A/B (58-6970) used by presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy from 1959 to 1962.
• VC-118A, (53-3240) used by President Kennedy from 1961 to 1962.
• SAM 26000, VC-137C (62-6000) used by presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon from 1962 to 1972.
• SAM 27000 (Spirit of '76), VC-137C (72-7000) used by presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and George H. W. Bush from 1972 to 1990.
• SAM 28000, VC-25A (82-8000) used by presidents George H. W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden from 1990 to the present. Its sister aircraft, SAM 29000 (82-9000), serves as the primary backup presidential aircraft.

(The dates shown above are the dates when the aircraft was used as the primary presidential aircraft. Most were retained in service for several years after the dates shown.)

Other presidential aircraft

In addition to the above, a number of other aircraft have been used by presidents for trips of short duration. Below is a listing of aircraft types assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing for use by the president or other senior government officials.

• VC-9C – Three VC-9Cs (73-1681, 73-1682 and 73-1683), a military variant of the McDonnell Douglas C-9, were in service from the 1976 to 2011.
• C-20C – A military variant of the Gulfstream III, upgraded and with secure communications, often utilized as backup aircraft accompanying the VC-25A aircraft when it is operating as Air Force One^[5]
• C-32 – Two C-32s, a military variant of the (Boeing 757-200), were acquired in 2002 and two more in 2010.
• C-37A – Three C-37As (one delivered in 2005 and two in 2006), a military variant of the Gulfstream V, are currently in service.
• C-40B – Two C-40Bs, a military variant of the Boeing 737-700C have been in service since 2002.
• VC-118A (53-3240) – A military variant of the Douglas DC-6, in service from 1947 to 1965. Used to access airfields with shorter runways.
• VC-137A/B – Three VC-137A/Bs (58-6970, 58-6971 and 58-6972), a military variant of the Boeing 707, were in service from 1959 to 1996. These were the first jet aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.
• VC-137C – Four VC-137Cs, a military variant of the Boeing 707, were acquired in 1962, 1972, 1985 and 1987 respectively and served to the early 2000s.
• VC-140B – Six VC-140Bs, a military variant of the Lockheed JetStar, were in service from the 1960s to the 1980s.
• U-4B – Two Aero Commander U-4Bs were in service from 1955 to 1960.

The president and other senior executives have also frequently made use of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane outfitted with "comfort pallets" to provide basic amenities while travelling into war zones undercover with normal non-prioritzed call signs so not to draw attention to the fact that a high value target is in the area.^[6][7][8] C-17's also typically proceed presidential travel by bringing the presidential limousine, Marine One, and other United States Secret Service vehicles and equipment to an area for a visit.^[9]

Call signs

The following air traffic control call signs designate aircraft transporting the president:

• Air Force One, any U.S. Air Force aircraft with the president on board.
• Marine One, the presidential helicopter.
• Army One, usually a helicopter. The Army shared the duty of transporting the president by helicopter with the United States Marine Corps until 1976, when the latter took on sole responsibility.
• Navy One, this designation has been used only once, when in 2003 an S-3 Viking airplane flew then President George W. Bush to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
• Coast Guard One; this call sign has not yet been used, although then-Vice President Joe Biden did fly on Coast Guard Two in 2009.
• Space Force One; this call sign has not yet been used.
• Executive One, any civilian aircraft carrying the president.

Rail cars[]

• United States (1865), constructed in 1863 and 1864. Abraham Lincoln never used the "elaborately appointed" car.^[10] After his assassination, his body was transported to Springfield in it.
• Ferdinand Magellan (1943–1958, 1984), used by presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Reagan for his whistlestop across Ohio in 1984.

See also[]

• Transportation of the president of the United States

References[]