the PRESIDENTIAL PLANE

By George Laros

A pictorial history of aircraft used by our presidents, and of the units serving them. For three decades, the White House has been sprouting wings. Six Presidential planes classed "Official" and some others too colorful to be ignored, have shared an exciting part not only in history in the making, but in history in motion. Since 1943, Presidential conferences have often been held, and decisions made, miles overhead. Far from routine or commonplace, incidents aboard have often been frightening, dramatic, even humorous. Recognizing that fact, hundreds of hours of research and extensive tape interviews with veterans of those flights have produced this first pictorial history of those Presidential planes. Because a picture really is worth a thousand words, a profuse number of illustrations has been carefully selected from hundreds made available that best supplement the written record of those interesting events. The Presidential Plane is educational, but that won't stop you from thoroughly enjoying every page of it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098035259

Book preview

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The Presidential Plane

George A. Laros

ISBN 978-1-0980-3523-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-0980-3524-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-0980-3525-9 (digital)

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-127800

Copyright 1970 By George A. Laros

Copyright © 2020 by George A. Laros 50th Anniversary Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

the

Presidential

Plane

by GEORGE A. LAROS

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Douglas Dolphin RD-2

Dixie Clipper

Guess Where II

Sacred Cow 107451

Independence 46-505

Columbine II 48-614

Columbine III 57-885

Prayer of Blessing

Aircraft 3240

Aircraft 26000

About the Author

To my wife, Emily F. Laros.

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible except for valuable assistance from literally dozens of men and women, including Senator Barry Goldwater; Military Assistant to President Nixon, Brigadier General James D. Hughes; Colonel C. W. Hammond, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information; Senator Hugh L. Scott; Representative Fred B. Rooney; also Presidential Aircraft Commander, Colonel Ralph D. Albertazzie; 89th Military Airlift Wing Information OfficerCaptain Don Macaluso; Information Office noncommissioned officer in charge, Technical Sergeants Julian R. Mills, and, Wing Photographer Buddy L. Pettit. Also aiding immeasureably, from the 89th, were Senior Master Sergeant Ernest Graves and Master Sergeant Donald P. O’Donnell, security guards, and Wing Standardization Chief for Air Traffic Specialists, Chief Master Sergeant Dwight E. Snider; Also aiding were Chief Warrant Officer John R. McLane (retired); Lt. Col. Gerald M. Holland, USAF, Philip D. Lagerquist, Research Archivist, Harry S. Truman Library; Director John E. Wickman, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library; David Schoem, Chief, Support Division, Office of Air Force History; Robert P. Higdon, Chief, Depository Services Section, USAF; Miss Frances R. Biese, Acting Chief, Research Division, Air Force Museum, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Major Robert C. Mikesh, whose research in 1963 has become the Bible of Presidential aircraft; Miss Althea Lister, Curator, Pan American World Airways, Fred D. Barre, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation, Lawrence C. Railing, information officer, Military Storage and Disposition Center, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, Donald K. Merchant of the Smithsonian Institution, and many, many others.

Picture Credits

Air Force Museum: 57, 76

Douglas Aircraft Company: 20

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library: 21

Harry S. Truman Library: 28, 30 (left), 35, 37, 43, 48, 51

Pan American World Airways: 22, 23, 24

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft: 25, 88, 89, 90

United Press International: 17, 79, 93

United States Air Force: 18, 19, 27, 30 (right), 32, 40, 44, 56, 59, 62, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77, 78, 81, 82-83, 84, 86, 87, 91, 92, 94

Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, member of the Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee and the Tactical Air Power Subcommittee, Republican nominee for President of the United States in 1964, and always a great American, Senator Goldwater has had a profound interest and continued dedication to aviation, and has been influential in its rapid progress since he first felt the controls of an airplane in 1960. He has since then logged more than 10,000 hours of pilot time, acquired in more than 100 different types and classes of aircraft,—more than many test pilots. His interest is as keen today as it was when he first climbed into a cockpit 40 years ago. In photo, don’t try to find a model of the plane he hasn’t flown,—it isn’t there.

Introduction

All Americans who share with me a deep interest in the progress our nation has made in the field of aviation will be indebted to George A. Laros for his fascinating account of one of its more interesting avenues.

In this volume the author has provided us with a detailed account of the most important planes in the United States—the planes that have been assigned to transport our Presidents.

Mr. Laros weaves an absorbing account of these planes, the men who flew them, the Presidents who used them and the conditions they performed in. He has taken us from FDR’s Sacred Cow to President Nixon’s "Air Force One." He has reported with great accuracy and in great detail the many changes and improvements that have been made over the years to provide our Chief Executives with faster, safer, more comfortable air travel.

Mr. Laros’ book also touches on the part these planes played in some of the great and moving historical incidents which occurred during the tenure of the Presidents involved. It is my great honor to write this introduction underscoring a truly magnificent job of historical storytelling.

Barry Goldwater

It is 1:52 p.m. in Washington, D.C. In the Oval Room of the White House, the President is consulting with several members of his cabinet. Ten miles toward the southeast, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, more than a score of dedicated airmen stand by.

Two hours later, at 3:52 p.m., the President is signing state papers at his airborne desk, six miles over Dayton, Ohio, while streaking westward at more than 530 miles per hour. Just ahead of him, in the same plane, two distinguished pilots and a superbly-trained crew fly the one hundred and twenty ton Air Force One, delivering to a distant destination the most powerful political figure on earth.

Back at the wind-swept hangars of Andrews, men of the 89th relax a bit as they continue preparations for return of The Presidential Plane and its valuable cargo.

Andrews, home of the