Presidential Rail Car, U.S. Number 1 Ferdinand Magellan |
The Great Seal of the President of the United States as displayed in bronze on the rear gate.of the FERDINAND MAGELLAN a National Historic Landmark
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Type Of Activity | Presidential Railcar |
Location |
Location | Washington DC |
Date of Activity | 1942 thru 1958 |
Coordinates | 38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W |
A Brief history of the Ferdinand Magellan (Or Life before "Air Force One")
Trains have long been a fixture on Presidential campaigns, and for nearly a century, they were how sitting Presidents canvassed the country. But the first five Presidents never even rode on train, let alone had one dedicated to their use.
The first Presidential candidate to use a train for campaigning was William Henry Harrison, who ran for President, unsuccessfully, in 1836. Then, in 1841, as President-elect, Harrison became the first to use a train to ride to his inauguration.
Two decades later, President Lincoln set a new standard for the White House's utilization of the rails. From the time he was voted into office, Lincoln put trains to use for the purpose of consolidating support for his policies and to reach Americans and Union soldiers directly. Lincoln even signed legislation that initiated the transcontinental railroad.
During Lincoln's time in office, a special executive coach dubbed United States was ordered to be built just for the President, although he supposedly detested the project. Lincoln was averse to luxury and what it signaled to his constituents during a time when the country was ravaged by internal warfare.
The only time he rode in it was after his assassination, as the car was the centerpiece of the “Lincoln Special” funeral train that brought his body back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. It was a time of national mourning, and the train acted as a tangible nexus between the devastating headlines and the American people who were so affected by the loss. The car was not preserved after acting as Lincoln's rail-bound hearse, and it was supposedly was lost in a fire years after its melancholy debut.
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The specially built Presidential coach dubbed United States.
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A map showing the route Lincoln's funeral train took back to Springfield.
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The Presidents and Presidential candidates that followed used trains constantly for transportation and promotion; some even died right before getting on a train (James Garfield).
U.S. Car No. 1 was actually built in 1928 by the Pullman Company, and was originally named Ferdinand Magellan. It was one of six similar custom cars, all named after the world’s great explorers.
A newly rebuilt Ferdinand Magellan was presented to President Roosevelt on December 18, 1942, exactly 14 years from the day it rolled out of the Pullman Company shops as a new unit. During World War II, for security reason, only the word "Pullman" appeared on the outside of the car so that from a distance, the rolling fortress looked like any other private rail car. Whenever it was part of a train, however, the train moved under the commodity code "POTUS" (the first letters of President of the United States.) Every railroad official knew that "POTUS" had the right of way over all other rail traffic. To lessen the chance of sabotage during the war, the car did not have a permanent storage location in Washington, D.C. It was moved around when not in use and stored on various sidings at Washington's Union Station, the Potomac Railroad yards, the Naval Gun Factory at the Navy Yard and in the sub-basement of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
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The historic Ferdinand Magellan, aka U.S. Car No.1, on display in Florida.
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Inside the dining air of U.S. Car No.1.
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The President's State Room
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The interior of the remodeled U.S. Car No. 1 had a presidential suite, two guest rooms, a dining room that also served as a conference room, and an observation lounge that Roosevelt and his staff could utilize during long trips. It was also extremely luxurious and had telephones in most rooms, which was unheard of at that time. Hitched to the end of a private train that included baggage cars, sleeping cars for staff and a communications car that was a converted hospital car, the Magellan could function as a veritable White House on wheels—a reverberating fortress. And as “Presidential Railcar U.S. Number 1,” it took precedence over all other rail traffic
Communications were facilitated by a converted hospital car that had incredibly high-tech radio gear installed so the President could stay connected at all times. A second converted hospital car was also part of the train. It was used by the President’s Secret Service protection detail and included bunks, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a lounge area. The code name for these two cars was “Crate.” An oversize baggage car would often carry two sedans and two convertibles for motorcades, and other cars could be added, like ones carrying the press and other aids for high-profile rail missions.
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The General Albert Meyer Communications Car with Staff Car
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Many famous people rode in the President’s car, including Winston Churchill, and key war planning was done in its conference room. FDR used the car extensively for his 1944 campaign, setting up shop right on the car’s elevated rear platform. Loudspeakers were installed on its roofline for this purpose, a signature feature on previous campaign cars used by Roosevelt. The train allowed FDR, who suffered from polio, to make public appearances under controlled circumstances, as health concerns had loomed heavily over his candidacy. A special wheelchair was also constructed for FDR to use while on the U.S. Car No.1.
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President Roosevelt making a campaign stop in 1944
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“Special instructions were issued so that no passenger, freight or switching moves would interfere with the movement of the special. Freights had to clear 30 minutes in advance and be at a standstill while the special passed. This was regardless of direction or track. If passing on adjoining tracks, conductors were instructed to insure against loose doors and other possible projections. Division engineers had to arrange for inspection of tracks, interlockings and drawbridges. Drawbridges could not be opened within 30 minutes of arrival of the train. In addition, car inspectors rode the train, state police monitored grade crossings and platform access was limited. It must have been a nightmare for the operating personnel who still had to move all the regularly scheduled trains.”
Like Lincoln, the Presidential railcar also was part of the rail procession that delivered Roosevelt’s body back to his hometown after his sudden death in 1945. In all, FDR had traveled nearly 250,000 miles on the rails during his presidency.
Following FDR’s death, Harry Truman continued to utilize U.S. Car No. 1. This included using it for a 31,000-mile whistle-stop tour of the US during the 1948 Presidential Campaign (although he bemoaned its slow speed). He demanded the train be run at 80 mph whenever possible, double the speed of Roosevelt’s liking.
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| President Truman on the speakers platform of the Ferdinand Magellan |
The heavy train car and its moderate pace helped to further solidify air travel as the future of medium-range presidential transport, with Truman increasingly opting to use the C-118 Liftmaster dubbed Independence instead of going by rail. The massive increase in the number of large airfields after WWII also helped facilitate this transition.
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Columbine II sitting behind armed guards.
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Still, U.S. Car No. 1 kept on chugging down the tracks right into the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration. But by the mid-1950s, rail travel was increasingly becoming a regional commodity, with the White House putting the first aircraft to use the callsign Air Force One into service, a Lockheed Constellation named Columbine II, for most Presidential travels.
The last use of U.S. Car No. 1 by the White House was by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, who took it to christen the world’s first operational nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus. Eventually, the historic car was retired to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Florida, where it remains on display today.
The General Albert Meyer Communications Car with Staff Car (Crate) was kept on hand longer, although by the end of the 1960s its days as an operational tool had ceased.
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| President Kennedy leaving Philadelphia after the Army Navy football game. |
Although the retirement of U.S. Car No. 1 marked the end of Presidential train usage as a primary form of transportation, it remained a secondary one for special occasions. Trains allow Presidents and those running for president to not only get closer to voters and constituents compared to arriving on Air Force One, or a campaign plane, at some locked-down airport, but they also bring a heavy dose of nostalgia to a campaign. This has not been lost on Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush (41), Clinton, Bush (43), and Obama, all of whom have leveraged rail travel for political purposes.  |
Ronald Reagan seen taking to the rails in 1980.
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In recent years, the Secret Service has also used trains as novel escape vehicles during high-risk Presidential visits. During the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, two separate “escape trains” were staged by the Secret Service to whisk the President away to New Jersey via rail in the case of a terrorist attack or other catastrophe. One of the trains was placed under Madison Square Garden, and the other under the Waldorf Astoria hotel where the President stays. In fact, the same scheme was used multiple times—one in particular during the UN General Assembly.
The Waldorf Astoria’s secretive railway platform and track that connects it with Grand Central Station and Penn Station has been something of an oddity for some time, and it has been used by the President before. FDR used it to easily come and go from New York, and in spectacular fashion. He would literally be staged in his armored Pierce Arrow limousine inside the modified baggage car that carried it, and would be driven right onto the platform, into a massive elevator, through a garage, and out onto the New York streets. This was just one more measure that helped hide from the public the debilitating effects of polio on Roosevelt’s body. A mysterious car, thought to be the very same one that carried FDR’s motorcade, remains abandoned near the platform to this very day.
Camp David Communications Railroad Car ”Crate” |
 | HF Radio Console
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Type Of Activity | Equipment test and Trip |
Location |
Location | Harrisburg Pa to Washington DC |
Date of Activity | 20 Jul 1966 to 25 Jul 1966 |
Coordinates | |
In recognition to the Army Signal personnel and their unusual assignment POTUS
One fall day in October 1956 12 noon EDT will long be remembered by hundreds of 14 MHZ SSB State side amateurs. It was the day W3WTE was, of all places, 60 feet below the Cleveland, Ohio, Railway Terminal Tower Station working the bands. The detail was called “Operation Earthworm” We have a QSL courtesy of W3WTE.
“POTUS” an acronym, stands for President of the United States! The special railroad car of the White House was used when the President was away from home, equipped with a luxury living rolling home, a lecture platform, communications, safety and hospital car, press corps and energy car. This amazing city on wheels was at times a nightmare for the Secret Service, Railroad and logistics involved in the Presidents safety. There was an advanced two car train and each crossing was inspected by the Secret Service and rail authorities.
Above radio control console occupies part interior of presidential communications General Myers Car. Multiple control panels, a maze of gadgets for radio broadcasts, radio photo transmission, tape recordings of presidential speeches and incoming and outgoing teletype printer copy.
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The generator room
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The WHCA communications car (Crate)
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Two diesel AC generators are on the right side of car, can supply enough power to operate the train in any capacity. Mr. Charles Clemens K6QD spoke of his duties much earlier when first assigned to Presidential Communications in 1942. He was chosen to be the first CW operator between the Presidential Train and the White House via HF radio in railroad Car 1401, “The White House on Wheels.”
Clemens explained some front seats had been removed and an operating table installed full of radio devices in their place. Telegraph lines alongside the tracks provided a lot of clicks that made it difficult to copy poor signals, mainly in the southwest part of the U.S.A. The clearance requirements for railroad cars prohibited using a real antenna. The radio operators used a wire inside an insulating tube mounted on standoffs about six inches above the metal roof of the car. This was later changed to a copper tube, the same size as the insulating tube, with much better results. Continued the frequency complement ran from 3 MHZ to 17 MHZ. (Car 1401 built in 1914 would be replaced in the 50s by the modern General Albert Myer car) Myer was the first Signal Corps Commander. Clemens K6QD Signal Corps operator said “I was supposed to contact a number of Army stations along our shakedown trip in 1942 riding the rails, none of them more than a couple of hundred miles from our route. As might be expected, results were poor and it was decided to contact WAR in the Pentagon at Washington direct. Successful contacts were made from New Orleans and on the way home.
The only real difficulty came when we were close to Washington DC.” Clemens added “Overall, our results were encouraging and we were assigned the task of accompanying President Roosevelt on his swing stomping around the country visiting military bases and aircraft plants.
Equipment and facilities were improved over the years and when Clemens left in 1948, the car had a small operating room, a code center, a small bunk room with four bunks, a lounge room and the baggage half of the car packed with equipment.
Clemens continued “To make a long story quite short, I worked six years on the Presidential Train, traveling with Presidents Roosevelt and Truman in the United States, Canada and Mexico. We logged well over a hundred thousand miles.” Today, the train is no more, Old 1401 is gone, only known by gild of 1401 above the entry door, Gen. Myer car has been retired and the Ferdinand Magellan is restored and on display in Florida.
The small detachment that Clemens knew had evolved into the White House Army Signal Agency and finally White House Communications Agency. They wouldn’t believe how much equipment they could eliminate by satellite communications today.
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Copy of the POTUS QSL W3WTE
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Partially scripted from March, 1975 Ham Radio Magazine article, “Brass Pounding on Wheels”, by K6QD CC Jr., and Railroad Magazine February 1953. Thanks to Glenn Laser W3WTE for a copy of the POTUS QSL. Glenn advised the card was found at a yard sale or Ham fest in WV and presented to him. - It would be a pleasure to sit and talk with Mr. Clemens today, but I believe he is a silent key because the call has been reissued several times. I can’t come up with anything on the two communications coaches whether they avoided he cutters torch.
When the Ferdinand Magellan was taken out of service in 1958, The two communication railcars were moved and during the 1960’s and 70’s and stored at the New Cumberland Army Depot just outside of Harrisburg, Pa. The communications car was to be maintained by WHASA/WHCA out of Camp David. Their mission was to provide communications for the President, while on trips, whether campaigning for office, or traveling via rail.
President Kennedy used Crate on one of the last official trips when he went to the Army Navy football game in Philadelphia in 1961.
The Radio car was a converted something and appeared to have been gutted and then built as required. There was a window installed so the operation could be viewed from the hallway that passed between the rail cars. As you were sitting at the console behind you, there was a large glass window which was by the walkway in the left side of the car. Looking out that glass window past the walkway was another large glass window which was on the car body. If anyone on the platform were to look into the car window, they would see the whole console and operators.
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Lounge Area (1961)
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Ron Danielson in the Radio Room (1961)
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The Radio Car had to be placed on the tracks, so it faced the Hospital car because of the coax connectors on the front end. The train had to be configured with the Hospital car toward the train engine and the Radio or Communications Car following. The coax connectors on the Hospital car were connected by coax jumpers to the coax connectors on the Communications Car. This was also because on the opposite end, (from the coax connector end) were connectors which carried audio to the end of the train.
The last car would be an Observation Car where the President would ride, stand and speak to the crowds, who would come to see him while on campaign trips.
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Switchboard Room
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The Radio Car had a console installed which handled all the HF Comm. equipment, the audio amps and VU Meters for the audio PA function and two patch panels for audio routing. It also had rooms for the AC power generators, radio equipment, switchboard and a small Comm. Center.
The radio console consisted of two HF Receivers (R-390A), two SSB/ISB Converters (CV-157) and a TTY converter (CV-116). The TMC GPT-750W transmitters were used for phone patch audio and TTY traffic.
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| The radio Console in (1961) |
On the top of this car was two HF antennas designed by Collins Radio. Hard to explain, but in the center of the roof of the car the antennas were grounded to the roof using three 90 degree elbows. A total of six, three for each antenna about 6 to 8 inches in diameter which fed three pipes in each direction to the end of the cars. About 3' from the end of antennas, the three pipes were bonded together and fed at that point, with 50 ohm coax, to connectors on the trailing side of the car. The pipes were supported by insulators from the center ground, out to the ends.
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The Communications Car on the siding in VA. (1961)
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Radio Antennas on Radio Car
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The two cars were stored at Indian Town Gap Army Depot near Harrisburg, Pa. primarily because President Eisenhower used it several times and it was close to Gettysburg and his farm. In early 1967 I actually took a trip on the Presidential Train (Crate) from Harrisburg to Union Station in DC, and back. All of the guys from M Street came down for a tour we spent the night and went back the next day. It was a total farce, I think the officers wanted to get away for a couple of days and have a party. There was some story about LBJ taking a train ride to Philadelphia for the Army - Navy game, but of course it never happened. I have always wondered if LBJ ever knew that he had something other AF-1 at his disposal.
In the late 1960’s the TMC GPT-750 W transmitter, R-390's and CV-157's were replaced with a Collins Radio state of the art transmitter/receiver, with automatic antenna tuners. The control units were mounted in the console, with the main TX / RX equipment mounted in two 6' 19" racks.
There is no confirmation as to when “Crate” was removed from service or the disposition of the
UPDATE:WHASA/WHCA Communications Railcar “Crate” |
 | General Albert J Myer USA 87325 with Morn Car USA 89426
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Type Of Activity | Communications support |
Location |
Location | New Cumberland Army Depot |
Date of Activity | 1951 thru 1974 |
Coordinates | 38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W |
After the Presidential Railcar Ferdinand Magellan was retired and acquired by the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in 1958, Crate and the Staff Car (Morn) were sent to storage at the New Cumberland Army Depot Just across the river from Harrisburg PA., where it was maintained by the Camp David Communications Detachment until sometime in 1974.
Built out of an old hospital car in 1951, the General Albert J. Myer (labeled POTUS 1), USA 87325 the communications car, this car replaced the older ‘Car 1401′ which always accompanied the presidential train the Ferdinand Magellan. Following the Myer was the Morn (labeled POTUS 2), USA 89426 which was also built from a hospital car and was the living quarters for the personnel of the Myer. It included a small kitchen, bunk beds, a small bathroom with a shower and a living area.
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Crate in St Louis in 1961
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There is a series of photos on the Kennedy Library website, dated November 1961 taken at Union Station St. Louis MO showing WHASA personnel preparing Crate for a trip by President Kennedy to the Army Navy Football game in Philadelphia, in December 1961. (No explanation as to why Crate was in MO although it was probably a training/test run prior to the actual trip.) There are also Photos of Crate at the 13th Street Station in Philadelphia dated December 2nd 1961.
WHASA/WHCA personnel from Camp David continued to maintain the communications equipment, through the late 60’s. The last time that I saw Crate was on July 27, 1966 when we returned from an overnight trip to Union Station in Washington D.C. Shortly after I was assigned to Cannonball just outside Mercersburg Pa.
It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I started communicating with people that I had served with in WHCA that we tried to find out what had happened to Crate. One person remembers going up to the Depot in PA from Camp David to work on Crate in the fall of 1967. Another person says that during the “Fuel Crises” of 1973, they went up to the Depot to look at the cars for a possible rail trip by President Nixon to Key Biscayne FL. The trip was eventually made by commercial Airline. No one that we talked to seemed remember or know when Crate was decommissioned or where it was today!
Recently I received a comment on my blog from an anonymous contributor identifying the whereabouts of Crate today along with several pictures. Several people were involved with supplying information relative with the suggested time line that follows. This is what we believe what happened To Crate!
Crate remained in service and functional until it was stripped of all of the Communications equipment and retired from Presidential Service sometime in 1974. It is believed that the Communications Car (Myer) USA 87325 went to Ft. Belvoir VA and of the Staff Car (Morn) USA 89426 was sent to Ft. Eustis TX. It is not known why Crate was split up or what if any was the Army’s intended use of these cars.
In 1978 Crate the Communications Car USA 87325 (POTUS 1) was purchased by NASA Kennedy Space Center Railroad System.
As part of the effort, in 1978, KSC purchased an old Army Signal Corps communications car (U.S. Army 87325) for use as an office/tool room. This car was constructed during World War II as a hospital car and remodeled in 1950 as the “Presidential Communications Car” and accompanied the “Ferdinand Magellan” armored Presidential Pullman whenever the U.S. President travelled by train. (POTUS 1) U.S. Army 87325, which became NLAX 150 upon its purchase by NASA, the car was retrofitted for duty by the newly hired railroad crew, which became part of the new Transportation Operations team within KSC. “KSC to Start Rail Operations,” Spaceport News, March 17, 1978: 1-3.
NASA disposed of General Albert J Myer USA 87325 in 1987, and it was acquired by the Gold Coast Railroad Museum. The museum was also informed about several other hospital style cars that were in Ft Eustis VA and they were also available. While the museum was at Ft Eustis they discovered that the Staff Car (Morn) USA 87325 was found! The Gold Coast Railroad Museum acquired both the Myer and Morn cars and Crete was re-united in FL at the GCRM! The paperwork relative to the acquisition of Crate was completed by the Florida Division of Surplus Property.
Work was progressing on these cars when Andrew hit in 1992. Andrew caused extensive damage to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum and to the cars that they were restoring. FEMA claimed that they would put all non-profits back to their pre-Andrew condition. Myer, Morn, the Jim Crow combine, and Hospital car 89436 were selected to go to Steamtown for repairs.
Rather than give the museum funds to restore the Myer and Morn, they along with a Hospital Car #89436 and a Combination “Jim Crow Car” were sent to the National Park Service Steam Town Park in Scranton PA for restoration. Patrick McKnight, Historian/Archivist for Steam Town Park said that the Hospital Car and Jim Crow car were restored and returned to the GCRM. The Myer and Morn were not restored, due to a lack of funds and documentation of what the interiors of the Myer and Morn looked like. The communications equipment would have been removed when the cars were taken out of service, and NASA modified the interior when they purchased the Myer in 1978. The cars were placed in storage for several years until there was an Executive order issued to either donate or sell the Myer and Morn to the Hollywood Railroad Station Museum Inc.
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Meyer COMM Car at GCRM just prior to Andrew (1992)
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Morn Staff Carat GCRM just prior to Andrew (1992)
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In 2001 The Hollywood Railroad Station Museum Inc. stepped in and got the Myer and Moen donated to them through an Executive order for a train to commemorate Dorothy Walker Bush (The mother and grandmother of the two Bush Presidents, and FL Governor Jeb Bush) dubbed the “Dorothy Walker Bush Great Floridian 2000.” The train was to consist of the Myer, Morn and 3 other cars. Grants were received from the State of Florida for the project, but little to no restoration was ever done.
Presidential train gets on track - South Florida Business Journal Published Aug 15, 2005, 12:00am EDT UPDATED: Aug 11, 2005, 4:28pm EDT
In 2005, Tony Campos, project director at the Hollywood Railroad Station Museum, was tasked with creating a train to commemorate Dorothy Walker Bush dubbed the “Dorothy Walker Bush Great Floridian 2000.” The train was to include the 1924 FEC Engine 253, the Myer and Morn, a mail car used in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, a “Jim Crow” segregation-era car, and the Direct Orient Express ice cream parlor. He was granted $375,000 by the Florida Division of Historical Resources and was expected to have the cars ready for display by June 2006.
In 2006, Campos acknowledged the restoration wasn't going to be completed on-time and cited hurricanes, a break-in, sketchy historical documents, lack of grant money, and a PBS documentary crew’s delay in filming the project. In October 2006, the Florida Division of Historical Resources sent a letter to Campos asking about the expenditures of the grant money. Campos then disappeared; he never responded, he didn't answer phone calls and is was hardly ever at his office at the station. It was requested he return the money or face legal action. The project director was eventually arrested for misappropriation of funds. He’s since been arrested and is thought to be out on parole as of this writing.
What’s left of the failed project now sits rotting away behind a South Florida warehouse. Among them are two train cars thought to be presidential trains cars, with the names (POTUS 1) and (POTUS 2) stenciled on the sides of cars, sit on wood blocks at the front of the tracks.
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Myer Communications Car USA 87325 POTUS 1 (2005)
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Staff Car (Morn) USA 89426 POTUS 2 (2005)
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According to this article Crate which consists of (POTUS 1) the Albert J Myer communications car and (POTUS 2) is the Morn Staff car sits on a railroad siding in Miami. No one that I have talked that actually was aboard Crate can remember if the cars that we maintained were actually labeled POTUS 1 or POTUS 2); however, a closer look at all of the photographs from this article and others that have been published leads me to conclude that the cars identified as POTUS 1 and POUTS 2 are likely to be Crate. Update: POTUS Train Cars Identified Published on November 7, 2013. By Bullet
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Myer Communications Car USA 87325 POTUS I (1961)
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Myer Communications Car USA 87325 POTUS I (2013)
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By comparing the window pattern of the car identified as POTUS I, it is probably the communications car USA 87325. A close look at the HF antenna system unique to the communications car was a special system designed by Collins Radio. This was a complex system for the time. The overhead pictures of the antenna system on the cars in service in the 1960,s (below) and the car identified as POTUS I today appear to be the same.
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In service Antenna System Myer Communications Car USA 87325 (1961)
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In service Antenna System Myer Communications Car USA 87325 (1961)
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Antenna insulator found next to Myer Communications Car USA 87325 POTUS 1
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Remains of the Antenna System Myer Communications Car USA 87325 (2013)
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Interior pictures of
POTUS 1 and POTUS 2 that were used to try to identify the Radio Room and the Staff/Lounge areas was difficult but, I believe the picture below is of the Radio Room.
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Ron Danielson in the Radio Room (1961)
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Radio Room (1961)
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| Aisle looking from the Comm room door towards the vestibule end of the car (2005) |
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Radio Room (2005)
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I believe that the POTUS 2 (Morn) can be identified as the Staff/Lounge car from the interior pictures that were provided by the article.
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Staff Car (Morn) USA 89426 POTUS 2 (1961)
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Staff Car (Morn) USA 89426 POTUS 2 (2005)
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Some interior photos of Crate at Union Station in St Louis (1961) found in the JFK Library were also used in the comparison. These are the only known photos of the interior of the Staff/Lounge Car.
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Staff sleeping area looking toward Lounge Area (1961)
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Lounge area looking towards the restroom, deep freezers, and kitchen.(2005)
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Lounge area (1961)
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Lounge Area (2005)
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Since no one is interested in restoring these two railcars, the fate of Crate appears to be the salvage yard and extinction!
PRESIDENTIAL YACHTS |
 Presidential Yacht Sequoia (1977)
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Type of Activity | Presidential Transport |
Location |
Location | Naval Yard, Washington DC |
Date of Activity | 1880 to May 1977 |
Coordinates | 38°53'51.2"N 77°02'20.9"W |
Before there was Air Force One, there was the presidential yacht. Dating back to the 19th century, America’s chief executives utilized navy ships and other vessels for recreation and entertaining foreign dignitaries. Nearly a dozen different ships acted as the “Floating White House” between 1880 and 1977, when the last vessel was sold at auction. During that time, they were the scene of international diplomatic summits, congressional schmoozing, and the occasional Potomac River pleasure cruise.
The Presidential yacht “served an important purpose in enabling Presidents to escape the claustrophobic tension of the White House,” former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has written. It “provided a quiet sanctuary; it was handier than Camp David, easier for casual, informal discussions.”
Sherman, Grant, Lincoln, and Porter aboard the River Queen, 1865
Abraham Lincoln made use of a steamboat called the River Queen during the Civil War, but the first official presidential yachts date to the Gilded Age. Starting in 1880, America’s commanders in chief sailed aboard a series of Navy vessels including USS Dispatch, USS Dolphin and USS Sylph. In 1886, Dispatch famously ferried Grover Cleveland across New York Harbor for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.
Presidential boating entered a new era in the early 1900s, when USS Mayflower took over as the chief executive’s official yacht. Unlike earlier vessels, which were relatively austere in their design, Mayflower was a luxury craft previously owned by real estate millionaire Ogden Goelet. Measuring some 275 feet from stem to stern, it boasted a crew of over 150 and had a sumptuous interior that included a 30-person dining table and bathtubs made from Italian marble.
This vessel was built as the yacht of Ogden Goelet, and was purchased by the Navy in 1898 for service as a gunboat during the Spanish-American war. The USS Mayflower is most famously associated with Theodore Roosevelt, who often used it for family vacation cruises along Long Island. A more official use came in August 1905, when Roosevelt hosted Japanese and Russian envoys aboard Mayflower as part of his attempts to mediate peace talks in the Russo-Japanese War. He would later win the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the conflict.
The Presidential Yacht Mayflower in early 1900
The Presidential Yacht Mayflower served as a presidential plaything for over two decades. Woodrow Wilson is said to have wooed his second wife Edith Bolling Galt during romantic jaunts aboard the ship, and Calvin Coolidge reportedly loved the yacht so much he stationed a Navy chaplain aboard so that he could take Sunday morning cruises without being accused of skipping church. Nevertheless, the ship’s opulence proved to be a sticking point with critics of presidential excess.
The Mayflower served as Presidential yacht until 1929, when President Hoover ordered the vessel decommissioned for economic reasons. The Mayflower was sold and reconverted to a yacht, but was taken into the Coast Guard during WWII as a patrol vessel. Postwar Mayflower was sold and secretly outfitted to carry Jewish refugees from Europe to Palestine. On 3 September 1948 she arrived at Haifa carrying the refuges from Exodus, a refugee ship which had been turned back from Palestine previously. Her subsequent fate is not recorded, but she probably ended her days.in a European scrapyard.
The Mayflower was the largest and stateliest of the presidential yachts, but it wasn’t the last. Hoover—a devoted fisherman—soon began making day trips on a wooden-hulled vessel called USS Sequoia, and he eventually grew so attached to it that he had it featured on his 1932 Christmas card. Franklin D. Roosevelt began his tenure with Sequoia, but later switched to USS Potomac, a 165-foot former Coast Guard cutter that included a special elevator to help the wheelchair-bound president move between decks.
Built as the Coast Guard patrol boat Electra in 1934, the USS Potomac was taken over by the Navy as a presidential yacht in 1935.
FDR occasionally utilized the USS Potomac for official business—it carried him to a 1941 meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill—but it was more frequently used for presidential leisure. In his book Sailor in the White House: The Seafaring Life of FDR, author Robert Cross writes that the USS Potomac provided Roosevelt with “an instant means of extricating himself from the confines of Washington. Roosevelt could escape to the open water, where he could do some politicking and thinking, or relax and entertain on deck with friends and advisors, or simply throw a fishing line overboard and patiently wait for a bite.” President Roosevelt enjoyed fishing and reading on the Potomac. On one memorable fishing trip in 1936, he caught kingfish, mackerel, groupers, and barracuda in the Bahamas.
USS Potomac in Oakland, CA.
In 1942 USS Potomac was condemned as unseaworthy due to added topside weight, and decommissioned in 1945, she served the state of Maryland as a fisheries vessel from 1946 to 1960. After periods as an inter-island ferry in the Caribbean, and as a floating museum dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt, she was purchased by Elvis Presley in 1964 and donated to St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis, TN. A series of owners followed, and in 1980 the yacht was seized on suspicion of drug-running. Soon thereafter she sank in her berth, was salvaged by the Navy, and was purchased by the Port of Oakland, CA. Potomac is now owned by the Association for the Preservation of the Presidential Yacht Potomac. She has been completely rebuilt and restored, and is normally docked at FDR Pier.
The Sequoia and USS Potomac served as the presidential yacht for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the USS Williamsburg served as the presidential yacht for President Harry S. Truman and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Roosevelt preferred the protection that the steel of the Potomac offered over the wood of the Sequoia. Additionally, the Potomac was larger than the Sequoia and could accommodate more Secret Service members.
The USS Williamsburg served as presidential yacht from 1945 to 1953.
The Williamsburg served Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, though Eisenhower only made one voyage before having it decommissioned in 1953.
USS Williamsburg National Archives and Records Administration
The Williamsburg was given to the National Science Foundation and renamed Anton Bruun, after the famous Dutch marine biologist. The yacht was decommissioned in 1953 per the orders of President Eisenhower. Laid up from 1953 to 1962, she then served the National Science Foundation until damaged in a dry docking accident in 1968. She was subsequently sold to become a hotel/museum in New Jersey, but she was instead laid up. In 1993 she was sent to Genoa, Italy for conversion to a luxury cruise ship. However, these plans were never realized.
The Williamsburg has been rusting away at a dock in La Spezia, Italy, where it has sat since 1993.
The USS Sequoia served as the “floating White House” from President Herbert Hoover’s administration through President Jimmy Carter’s administration. The 104-foot-long yacht was designed by John Trumpy and built in 1925 by the Mathis Yacht Building Company in Camden, New Jersey. The vessel was purchased by the Department of Commerce on March 24, 1931, transferred to the Navy, and commissioned as the Sequoia for the president’s use.
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| Photo of the U.S.S. Sequoia, Presidential Yacht, from 1933 |
In 1933 she was acquired by the Navy as the presidential yacht. She served in this capacity until replaced by Potomac in 1936. Sequoia then served as the Secretary of the Navy's yacht until 1969, when she became a dual-use yacht for the President and other high-ranking government officials, replacing Williamsburg.
WHCA’s Role in supporting The Presidential Yacht Sequoia
The Naval Administrative Unit (NAU) a division of DCAU the administrative unit of WHCA oversaw the Naval personnel assigned to Sequoia . The Naval Administrative Unit (NAU) was stationed at the Old Navy Yard Bldg. 146 and only maintained the Presidential Yacht Sequoia this unit existed until July 1977 when President Carter returned the Sequoia to the Navy for disposal.
As with all other official Presidential forms of transportation WHCA supported the Secret Service and White House Staff with communications, the Yacht was equipped with FM radio frequencies Baker/Charlie for the USSS, Sierra for Paging and Staff use, finally Y/Z for communications with the Presidential Motorcade.
One of the duties of the WHCA radio group was to carry a pager one week at a time and would be dispatched to the yacht and test the radios prior the arrival of the President or any other authorized user of Sequoia. When the Sequoia went out WHCA transportation would usually get a rush dispatch to take people to the Navy Yard. It was usually someone from the Radio Group and it was always on short notice.
The USCG had three chase boats codename Sharktail they were highly maneuverable, and they were the fastest boats on the river they were primarily used to keep sightseers, and other watercraft a safe distance away from Sequoia while it was cruising the river.
The USSS code name for the Presidential Yacht Sequoia was Helmsman, and the USSS also had a follow follow-up boat, with the codename of Rockfish, the Rockfish was too slow for any chase boat activity. It was mainly used for training and to shuttle people on and off Sequoia when underway.
One other ship assigned to Presidential support was a PT called the Guardian, also assigned to the Navy Yard. The Guardian had no code name that I can find and after the retirement of the Presidential yacht in 1977, the Guardian was transferred back to the Navy and was retired in 1988, being the longest serving PT boat in the Navy.
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The Presidential Yacht Sequoia on the Potomac 22 November 1966.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt installed an elevator in the 1930s to make the yacht more easily accessible for his wheelchair. Lyndon B. Johnson later replaced the elevator with a bar.
Recreation was also the main role of the presidential yachts during the administration of Harry Truman, who hosted floating poker games aboard Sequoia and the 243-foot USS Williamsburg. Dwight D. Eisenhower was more of a landlubber than his predecessors, but sea excursions became popular again in the 1960s, when Sequoia resumed its former role as the main presidential yacht. John F. Kennedy—who also utilized a yacht called Honey Fitz and a sailboat called Manitou—The presidential yachts offered a brief retreat from the White House for presidents and served as a setting for recreational and social activities.
For example, on May 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy celebrated his final birthday with a party aboard Sequoia with dinner and a cruise on the Potomac River.
As the longest serving of the executive yachts, Sequoia played host to several chapters in presidential history. The 104-foot vessel was a humbler affair than many of the other yachts, but the seclusion of its elegant, mahogany-paneled saloon made it an ideal location for sensitive political discussions. Harry Truman talked nuclear arms policy aboard the ship with the prime ministers of Britain and Canada. In the mid-1960s, Lyndon Johnson used yacht trips to hash out Vietnam strategy and lobby legislators to support his Great Society domestic reforms. “The Sequoia was a rostrum from which he was trying to persuade congressmen and senators,” former Johnson aide Jack Valenti said. LBJ also installed a liquor bar and enjoyed having movies projected on the main deck.
President Johnson entertains guests on the aft deck
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| The main bedroom in the Presidential Yacht U.S.S. Sequoia
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Richard Nixon was undoubtedly the most the enthusiastic user of Sequoia. The 37th president reportedly made as many as 100 trips aboard the yacht, including one in which he met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to negotiate the SALT I nuclear arms agreement.
Richard M. Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev aboard the Presidential Yacht Sequoia
Near the end of his second term, Nixon also used Sequoia as a hideout from the controversies of the Watergate scandal. During one final cruise in August 1974, the embattled president reportedly informed his family of his decision to resign before retiring to the ship’s saloon, quaffing a glass of scotch, and playing God Bless America on the piano.
The ship’s dining room and piano
President Gerald R. Ford organized several informal meetings with his cabinet members to discuss economic policies and diplomatic meetings. on the Sequoia.
The age of the presidential yacht ended in May 1977.
That year, newly inaugurated Jimmy Carter ordered that Sequoia be offloaded in a public sale. Carter later noted that he was disturbed by the yacht’s $250,000 annual upkeep, but he was also following through on a campaign promise to dispense with the extravagance of the presidency. “Despite its distinguished career, I feel that the Presidential yacht Sequoia is no longer needed,” he wrote in a memo to his Secretary of Defense Since then, the yacht has been sold and acquired by several different owners.
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| The Presidential Yacht Sequoia (1977) |
Sequoia, though inactive and was in a state of disrepair, the yacht was once used as a floating museum and private charter boat, and still retains much of its presidential memorabilia. Unfortunately, this foundation went bankrupt in 1988 and the yacht lay derelict for nearly a decade. Eventually coming under the ownership of Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.,
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On a barge going from VA to Belfast ME (2019) |
The Sequoia’s current owner is Equator Capital Group, are in the process of restoring the yacht. When the Sequoias restoration is complete, Equator Capital Group plans to bring it back to Washington, D.C to serve as a venue for teaching American presidential history and promote conservation causes.
In the summer and fall of 2019, SEQUOIA was carefully loaded and barged from southern Virginia to Belfast, Maine where she will undergo a complete restoration by master boatbuilders French & Webb.
But the Sequoia, shrouded in plastic in a city-owned parking lot next to the Harbor Walk, is still waiting for the restoration to begin. The delay is due to the 2020 pandemic, according to Amanda Green, the office manager at French & Webb. Now, the company is waiting for a go-ahead from the ship’s owner to get things rolling, she said.
Today, Sequoia and Potomac are the only two former presidential yachts still in existence. Potomac went through several different owners after its presidential service—including Elvis Presley—and is now moored in Oakland, California.
In 1987, Both the Sequoia, and the Potomac vessels were registered as National Historic Landmarks.
White House Transportation Agency (WHTA) |
 | | US Army White House Transportation Agency |
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Type of Activity | Presidential Transport |
Location |
Location | Worldwide |
Date of Activity | Feb. 17, 1910 to Present |
Coordinates | 38°53'51.2"N 77°02'20.9"W |
The automobile has been a central part of American culture since the early 1900's--and has been a part of Presidential history for just as long. From the earliest Stanley Steamers 1910 to the special-built Cadillac limousine (referred to by the Secret Service as "The Beast") used by Donald Trump, here is a history of Presidential limousines and the US Army White House Transportation Agency (WHTA).
"The WHTA provides a fleet of motor vehicles, master drivers and transportation services to the President, Vice President, First Family, White House staff, and official visitors of the First Family in the Washington D.C., area, according to the agency's mission statement. Working closely with the Secret Service, Air Force One and The White House Communications Agency Advance teams to provide all facets of transportation support for presidential motorcades and travel-to include cargo handling for the president and those who travel with him-stateside and abroad, as directed by the White House Military Office.
President Taft's 1911 White steamer
William Howard Taft was in office that the first official Presidential limousine, a Model M Steamer made by the White Automobile Manufacturing Company, The Secret Service agents assigned to protect Taft created the US Army White House Transportation Agency to maintain the automobiles, and when Taft was driven around in one of his cars, Secret Service agents always followed in another car behind him.
Woodrow Wilson was the first President to ride a car in an official state occasion when he led a World War One victory parade in 1919 in a Cadillac convertible. In 1921, Warren G Harding, the first President who knew how to drive a car, rode in a Packard Double Six to his inauguration at the White House. His successor, Calvin Coolidge, was driven in a 1928 Cadillac Town Car.
1933-1945: Executive fleet vehicles become known as "Carpet vehicles," because they were carpeted, unlike Army staff cars, which did not have carpet or other creature comforts. For this reason, today's White House Transportation Agency is still referred to as "CARPET."
Then an event happened which changed the nature of the Presidential limousine. In February 1933, Franklin D Roosevelt had just finished giving a speech from the back of an open car in Miami when there was a failed ed assignation attempt of the President-elect. The Secret Service decided that they needed Presidential vehicles that were better protected. In 1939, the first specially built Presidential limousine was delivered--known as the "Sunshine Special". This was a 1939 Lincoln K-Series convertible V12 with extra-wide running boards and handholds for Secret Service agents.
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| 1939 Lincoln K-series Sunshine Special, used by Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
When Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, the "Sunshine Special" underwent the addition of armor, one-inch-thick (2.5 cm) bulletproof glass, "metal-clad flat-proof inner tubes, a radio transceiver, a siren, red warning lights, and a compartment for submachine guns." After the second set of modifications, the car weighed 9,300 pounds (4,200 kg) and was six feet (1.8 m) longer and was not available for service.
Instead, the Secret Service commandeered the bulletproof 1928 Cadillac Town Sedan that had belonged to gangster Al Capone, FDR rode in Capone's car to the Capitol Building to give his "day of infamy " speech and continued to use the "gangster car" until the Sunshine Special was returned. The Sunshine Special served as the official Presidential limousine for both FDR and President Harry Truman.
1942 Lincoln Custom used by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
The Lincoln Custom was sometimes called the Sunshine Special although it was the replacement for the K-series by Lincoln, FDR’s office ordered it, but Harry Truman also used this limo until 1950.
In 1950, two custom-built Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertibles were obtained by the Secret Service. During Eisenhower's term, they were modified to add a glass "bubble top" to be used during motorcades. They also carried the names "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth", this vehicle was the first to use a bulletproof "bubbletop" canopy, which was added in 1954. The car remained in service until 1967.
1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan, used by Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.
Currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum,
On October 17, 1957 Queen Elizabeth (II) (the “real person”), arrived in Washington D.C. and rode in a presidential motorcade parade up Pennsylvania Avenue on her way to the White House. Queen Elizabeth’s Washington Parade used both of the 1956 Cadillac limousine convertibles This is the first time that the “Queen Elizabeth II” (the car) and Queen Elizabeth II (the person) ever came together.
Eisenhower’s 1952/56 Imperial Parade Phaeton. Huge difference. While the ’42 Lincoln had been efficient and heavy, safe, and secure in a time when the world was under fire, Ike’s peacetime Chrysler Imperial was open and stylish. It exuded post-war prosperity and optimism. It was one of three built, the other two going to the mayors of L.A. and New York. This one was used by Eisenhower, Nixon “…and a whole lotta astronauts,” said Kendall.
Eisenhower’s 1952/56 Imperial Parade Phaeton
1953-1961: During the Eisenhower administration, civilian chauffeurs are completely phased out, and the Secret Service assumes the duties of driving the president,
Two identical presidential Cadillac limousines were built by GM using the Cadillac Fleetwood 75 convertible which were then modified and customized. Each of the Cadillac presidential parade cars were 21 feet long and weighed 7,000 pounds. They had a Series 56-86 commercial chassis characterized by a 158-inch wheelbase and a 365 cubic inch, 305 horsepower V-8 engine. The cars reportedly could reach speeds of up to 115 miles an hour.
President Eisenhower in a Cadillac presidential parade car
These presidential convertibles were equipped with a large externally mounted siren, oscillating grill mounted red lights, a built-in gun rack, pistol holders and “run flat” tires as well as special communications equipment installed by WHCA.
In 1961, President John F Kennedy received a 1960 Lincoln Continental Model 74 limousine. Known as the SS-100-X, the car was custom-built in Ohio. It was 33 inches longer than a standard Lincoln, had seats that could be raised for better visibility, and could be fitted with a clear plastic bubble top. One thing the car lacked, however, was air conditioning, and Kennedy disliked the bubble top because it made the car too hot. While riding in this car without the bubble top in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963, Kennedy was shot and killed.
1961 Lincoln Continental SS-100-X used by John F. Kennedy. Currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum
President Kennedy’s limo with Bubble Top
Oct. 1, 1964: The U.S. Army Transportation Agency is established as a Class I activity under the jurisdiction of the commanding general, Military District of Washington. Operational control remains with the White House Military Office. The agency is later renamed the White House Transportation Agency. Today's personnel and fleet numbers, as well as the executive support functions the agency provides, remain relatively unchanged from those of the Kennedy and subsequent administrations.
After the assassination, additional armor and a fixed hard roof was added to the car, and it was used by Lyndon Johnson until it was replaced by two 1965 Lincoln Continental Executive limousines.
1965 Lincoln Continental used by Lyndon B. Johnson.
In 1969, President Richard Nixon received a new Lincoln Continental, with its hard top fitted with a sunroof, through which Nixon could wave to people during motorcades.
President Nixon in the last Limousine with an open Roof
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.
1972 Lincoln Continental, used by Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.
This Limo 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.
After decades of presidential Lincolns (named, of course, after a president), Cadillac was finally given the chance to produce a limousine for the secret service in the early 1980s. Appearing in 1984 were a pair of 1983 Fleetwood’s built by Hess & Eisenhardt. Since the coachbuilder started with production Fleetwood limousines, the cars were stretched only 17 inches and their roofs raised three inches. Power for both came from Cadillac's own massive 500 cubic-inch V8.
1983 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, used by Ronald Reagan
Though awkward in appearance, the Fleetwood provided excellent visibility for the president. Large greenhouses were made possible by the develop of 2 3/8ths inch thick bulletproof glass and powerful air conditioning systems that kept the cabin cool.
Upon their retirement, of one Fleetwood it was returned to GM who lent it out to producers of the 1993 Clint Eastwood film In The Line of Fire. The other Fleetwood is on display at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
1989 Lincoln Town Car, used by George H.W. Bush
George H.W. Bush brought Lincoln back to the White House with a classic, the Town Car.
More Town Cars became limousines than any other vehicle in the 80’s. The Town Car was once a trim of the Continental, but by the 80’s Lincoln saw fit to give Town Car its own line. The ’89 was no slouch under the hood. Off the line, it hammered 180 horses with its 4.9-liter V8.
Cadillac, who would not let their brand get pushed away so fast, built this Fleetwood from the ground up for the then-new president, Bill Clinton. Every presidential car up until this point was a modified production car.
1993 Fleetwood is on display at the Clinton Presidential Library.
By the time of George W. Bush's inauguration, Cadillac no longer produced a full-frame rear-drive car suitable for conversion into a presidential limousine. Meanwhile, the Secret Service's safety requirements for the limousine had grown ever more ambitious and, well, weighty. So, when the Bush DeVille debuted--it really was not much of a DeVille at all.
2001 Cadillac De Ville used by George W. Bush
Equipped with five-inch thick armored doors and bulletproof glass so thick it blocks out parts of the light spectrum, Bush's DeVille was rumored to feature a self-contained passenger compartment with its own secure air supply, run flat inner cores inside the tires, and a big 454 cubic inch truck engine so the 14,000-or-so pound monster could push through any obstacles.
The 2001 DeVille President G.W. Bush ordered was his first term limo. Cadillac started making DeVille’s in ’59, but the 8th generation saw the first major redesign since the 1994 model. The 2001 was a V8 (4.6 Liter), of course, but came with 300 horsepower off the line. The 8th generation would be the last. Cadillac replaced them with the DTS.
By the time of the Bush's second inaugural in 2005, Cadillac was ready with an updated fleet of limousines that featured styling that mimicked the DTS production sedan.
The 2005 Cadillac DTS Presidential State Car was the official state car used by President George W. Bush of the United States during the second term of his administration. Analogous to the President's use of an airplane designated Air Force One, the automobile—traditionally a limousine—is informally known as "Cadillac One". The limousine model was replaced on January 20, 2009, upon the inauguration of President Barack Obama, although both models are still in use.
2005 Cadillac DTS Presidential State Car used by George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
The model is a 2005 hand-crafted, custom built, heightened-roof, and armored vehicle designed with the styling of the Cadillac DTS sedan built on a GM four-wheel drive platform. It was first used on January 20, 2005, during the second inauguration parade of George W. Bush.
It sports a tall roofline, an all-wheel drive set up based on that of the Cadillac Escalade, red and blue emergency lights built into the front grille, and is fitted with red strobe lights in the headlights and rear brake lights The standard door handles have been replaced by those of a more loop design. The vehicle is completely fitted with military grade armor 5 inches (130 mm) thick for maximum protection. The windows do not open, the wheels are fitted with run flat tires, and five antennas are mounted on the trunk lid. Due to the thickness of the glass, much natural light is excluded, so a fluorescent halo lighting system in the headliner is essential.
The car can seat seven people, including the President. The front seats two, and includes a console-mounted communications center. A glass partition divides the front from back. Three rear-facing seats are in the back, with cushions that are able to fold against the partition. The two rear seats are reserved for the president and another passenger; these seats have the ability to recline individually. A folding desk is between the two rear seats. Storage compartments in the interior panels of the car contain communications equipment.
This was also George W. Bush’s limo. It had a special name everyone called it “Cadillac One”, reflecting the name given the presidential plane: “Air Force One”, and Presidential helicopter “Marine One”.
President Obama's new ride a 2009 Cadillac is not much larger than Bush's Cadillacs, but it is apparently much heavier. A look at photos released by GM reveal a limo-looking behemoth running on Goodyear Regional RHS tires--that's rubber usually reserved for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
2009 Cadillac "The Beast", used by Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Although rarely deployed in Presidential travel, a pair of heavily modified and thickly armored buses were procured by the Secret Service around the turn of the decade. The joint project between Prevost Car and Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, known as the model X3-45 VIP 3, allows the President to travel more efficiently by road in rural areas when many stops are on the schedule.
Once delivered, these roving White Houses were painted gloss black and had advance communications installed to interconnect them with Roadrunner and the world beyond, as well as other improvements like what you would find in the Presidential limousine. Both limo buses were used leading up to the 2012 election, Codename Ground Force One they can easily replace the Beast at any time in the motorcade!
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| Ground Force One (2012 Campaign) |
2018 Cadillac used by Donald Trump.
It contains encrypted voice and data communications equipment allowing the President to keep contact with the rest of the government. For security, it is heavily armored against bullets and explosions, has special tires that can run even when flat, and is sealed against chemical and biological weapons (it carries its own air supply). The car even carries a stockpile of the President's particular blood type.
President Donald Trump has officially arrived at a public event where he debuted his new 2018 presidential limo—"The Beast," as it is known colloquially. Like the previous Beast, first used by President Barack Obama in 2009, the new version is built by General Motors and visually denoted as a Cadillac, and its latest iteration adopts more modern styling cues and surely packs more advanced technology.
Air Force One AF-1 (1944-2020) |
 | 89th Military Airlift Wing Insignia
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Type of Activity | Presidential Transport |
Location |
Location | Worldwide |
Date of Activity | 1944 to Present |
Coordinates | 38°53'51.2"N 77°02'20.9"W |
The mission of Presidential air transport began in 1944 is to provide air transport for the president of the United States. Today's aircraft are operated and maintained by the Presidential Airlift Group and are assigned to Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing located at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The aircraft that would transport the President initially was identified by its tail number but in order to prevent confusion with air traffic controllers the aircraft would eventually become known as Air Force One. The Presidential Airlift Group (PAG) actually fly the aircraft.
Presidential air transport began in 1944 when a VC-54, nicknamed the "Sacred Cow," was put into service for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Roosevelt’s successor, President Harry S. Truman, used the aircraft extensively during the first 27 months of his administration. On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on board the Sacred Cow. This act established the US Air Force as an independent service, making the Sacred Cow the “birthplace” of the US Air Force.
VC-54, nicknamed the "Sacred Cow,"
Then came a VC-118, nicknamed the "Independence,” which transported President Harry S. Truman during the period 1947 to 1953. It was nicknamed “Independence” after President Truman’s hometown, Independence, Missouri.
VC-118, nicknamed the "Independence,”
President Dwight D. Eisenhower traveled aboard a VC-121A and VC-121E, both nicknamed "Columbine II" and "Columbine III", from 1953 to 1961. These two aircraft were named after the official state flower of Colorado in honor of Mrs. Eisenhower’s home state.
VC-121E, nicknamed "Columbine III"
While the call sign "Air Force One" was first used in the 50s, President Kennedy's VC-137 was the first aircraft to be popularly known as "Air Force One."
VC-137C with the tail number 26000.
In 1962, a VC-137C specifically purchased for use as Air Force One, entered into service with the tail number 26000. It is perhaps the most widely known and most historically significant presidential aircraft. Tail number 27000 replaced 26000 and carved its own history when it was used to fly Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter to Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 19, 1981, to represent the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
SAM 27000 is a specially configured Boeing 707-353B with the Air Force designation C-137
When the president is aboard either aircraft, or any other Air Force aircraft, the radio call sign "Air Force One" is used for all communications and air traffic control identification purposes.
Principal differences between the C-137C and the standard Boeing 707 aircraft are the electronic and communications equipment carried by the presidential aircraft, and its interior configuration and furnishings. Passenger cabins are partitioned into several sections: a communications center, the presidential quarters, and a staff/office compartment. There is limited seating for passengers, including members of the news media.
Originally painted red the Kennedys had the aircraft redesigned into the iconic blue it is today In May 1963, on a trip to Moscow with a U.S. delegation, aircraft SAM 26000 set 14 speed records, including the Washington to Moscow record of 8 hours, 38 minutes, 42 seconds.
This was the same aircraft in which President John F. Kennedy flew to Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963, and in which his body was returned to Washington, D.C., following his assassination.
JFK arrives in Houston on Nov,21 1963
LBJ becomes President aboard SAM 26000
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office as the 36th president of the United States on board the aircraft at Love Field in Dallas the same day. This aircraft was also used to return President Johnson's body to Texas following a State funeral in Washington, D.C., Jan. 24, 1973.
LBJ Visits Vietnam in 1965 unannounced
President Richard M. Nixon used aircraft SAM 26000 extensively during the first four years of his administration.
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| SAM 26000 at El Toro MCAS while visiting San Clemente |
My first experience in working with SAM 2600 was while I was assigned to San Clemente in 1970 our detachment worked all of the arrivals and departures at El Toro MCAS, We plugged in the ramp phone and the other circuits into the nose of SAM 2600 for the onboard telephones to connect the aircraft to the San Clemente switchboard. When the President departed, we disconnected all of the phones.
President arrives in China on The Spirit of 76
His most widely heralded trips included the around-the-world trip in July 1969, to the Peoples Republic of China in February 1972, which I was a part and to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in May· of that same year.
Aircraft SAM 27000 has established its own history and reputation. This aircraft was accepted by the Air Force on Aug. 4, 1972 and was placed into service after nearly 200 hours of service testing and evaluation. It was first used by President Nixon on Feb. 8, 1973.
President Gerald R. Ford first used aircraft SAM 27000 on Aug. 19, 1974, when he flew from Andrews Air Force Base to Chicago to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. He later traveled overseas on a 7-day State visit to the Far East and visited Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, Seoul, Korea, and Vladivostok, Russia.
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| President Ford arrives in Chicago Note: The state-of-the-art Ramp Phone |
Also, in May 1975, he made his first trip to Europe, visiting Belgium, Spain, Austria, and Italy. In July and August 1975, President Ford returned to Europe to visit the Federal Republic of Germany, Poland, Finland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. He flew to France in November 1975; and to the Peoples Republic of China, Indonesia, and the Philippines in December 1975.
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President Ford enroute to Europe 1975
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President Jimmy Carter made his first trip aboard aircraft SAM 27000 on March 16, 1977, when he visited three states, including New York where he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. His first overseas trip was made to England and Switzerland in May 1977.
President and Mrs Carter deplane from SAM 27000
In December 1977 and January 1978, President Carter flew to Poland, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, and Belgium. He flew to Venezuela, Brazil, Nigeria and Liberia in March 1978; Panama in June 1978; the Federal Republic of Germany in July 1978; Israel in March 1979; Austria, Japan, and Korea in June 1979; and Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain, and Portugal in June 1980. /
Presidents Carter and Ford enroute to Egypt 1981
On Feb. 19, 1981, President Ronald W. Reagan first flew in aircraft SAM 27000 for a brief trip to Santa Barbara, Calif. He returned to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Feb. 22, 1981. In March 1981, President Reagan flew to Canada
President Reagan enroute to ReykjavÃk, Iceland to meet with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Ronald Reagan was SAM 27000's most frequent flyer, flying longer and farther than all the other presidents who flew on it, traveling more than 675,000 miles aboard it. Reagan used Air Force One to travel to all parts of the world to pursue his ambitious diplomatic goals, taking three trips to Asia, six to Europe, and twelve trips to foreign places in the Western Hemisphere. Reagan flew to three of his four summit meetings with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev aboard SAM 27000: Geneva, ReykjavÃk, and Moscow (one was held in Washington, D.C.). /
President Reagan visits the Communications Center
The Reagans' last flight aboard the plane was on January 20, 1989, when the now-former President and First Lady flew back to California.
SAM 27000 at the Regan Library
The Presidential Aircraft SAM 27000 with the Air Force designation C-137C. was officially retired in 2001 and has been on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library since 2005.
The Cockpit of SAM 27000 USAF VC-137C
Communications Operator using Kleinschmidt terminal
Present day presidential air transport fleet consists of two specially configured Boeing 747-200B's -- tail numbers 28000 and 29000 -- with the Air Force designation VC-25. When the president is aboard either aircraft, or any Air Force aircraft, the radio call sign is "Air Force One."
Principal differences between the VC-25 and the standard Boeing 747, other than the number of passengers carried, are the electronic and communications equipment, self-contained baggage loader, front and aft air-stairs, and the capability for in-flight refueling.
VC-25A -- tail number 28000 interior layout
Accommodations for the president include an executive suite consisting of a stateroom (with dressing room, lavatory and shower) and the president's office. A conference/dining room is also available for the president, his family, and staff. Other separate accommodations are provided for guests, senior staff, Secret Service and security personnel and the news media.
Two galleys provide up to 100 meals at one sitting. Six passenger lavatories, including disabled access facilities, are provided as well as a rest area and mini galley for the aircrew. The VC-25 also has a compartment outfitted with medical equipment and supplies for minor medical emergencies.
The first VC-25A -- tail number 28000 -- flew as "Air Force One" on Sept. 6, 1990, when it transported President George Bush to Kansas, Florida and back to Washington, D.C. A second VC-25A, tail number 29000 transported Presidents Clinton, Carter, and Bush to Israel for the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Tail number 29000 also carved its name in history on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush traveled to Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, where he received news that two planes had flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. President Bush was rushed back to the airport where he flew to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. While enroute from Florida to Louisiana, the pilots were told there was a plane approaching. Fearing the unknown plane was hijacked, Air Force One altered its course; but ultimately, decided to continue on to Barksdale. (The second plane turned out to be harmless.) The President went from Barksdale Air Force Base to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska; however, he insisted on returning home to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Many of the important decisions made that day were made on board Air Force One. The aircrew safely returned the President and staff members back to Washington, D.C. despite increased threats. President Bush is pictured below visiting Ground Zero on September 14, 2001
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| President Bush is reviewing the damage at Ground Zero on September 14, 2001 |
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| President Bush on SAM 2800 visits the World Trade Center South Tower in New York City |
On Thanksgiving Day 2003, President George W Bush was scheduled to celebrate the holiday quietly on his ranch in Crawford, Texas instead the President and his National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, secretly flew on Air Force One (SAM 28000) from Texas to Andrews Air Force Base, where they picked up aides, military and Secret Service personnel, a few reporters, and changed to a twin version of Air Force One (Sam 29000).
SAM 29000 arriving at Bagdad International Airport
President Bush serving Turkey dinner to the Troops
President Bush spent two and a half hours in Iraq visiting with the troops and other dignitaries. Take-off from Baghdad International Airport was just as dangerous. Everyone on the plane was told to keep the lights out and maintain telephone silence. Once Air Force One had climbed to a safe altitude, reporters on board were free to file reports about the trip.
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President Obama in the cockpit of SAM 2800
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President's office on Air Force One
SAM 28000 and SAM 29000 continued to transport President Obama his family and staff throughout his term in office. President Obama made a total of 445 times that he has flown aboard the familiar, eye-catching blue and white U.S. government airplane with the presidential insignia emblazoned on the side.
The 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit was a summit meeting between North Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, held at the Capella hotel, Sentosa, Singapore, on June 12, 2018. It was the first-ever meeting between leaders of North Korea and the United States. President Trump shakes hands with Kim Jong Un at the President Trump and Kim Jong Un at the DMZ in 2019
Singapore Summit 2018
President Donald Trump met again with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019. President Trump made history by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to step onto North Korean soil when he crossed over the DMZ after sharing a symbolic handshake with Kim.
President Trump made history by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to step onto North Korean soil
President Donald Trump's visit to see the fireworks at Mount Rushmore on July 3, 2020 was his second visit to South Dakota since becoming president in 2016. Trump is the 16th president to visit South Dakota.
Air Force One making a fly by at Mt. Rushmore
TThe VC-25A continues the unique mission of presidential travel, upholding the proud tradition and distinction of being known as "Air Force One."
Marine Helicopter Squadron One(HMX-1) |
HMX-1 Insignia
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Type of Activity | Presidential Transport |
Location |
Location | Worldwide |
Date of Activity | Dec 1947-Present |
Coordinates | 38°53'51.2"N 77°02'20.9"W |
On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first president to ride in the newest advance in aviation technology: the helicopter.
Organized 1 December 1947, at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia, Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) was established as an experimental unit tasked with testing and evaluating military helicopters when rotary wing flight was still in its infancy.
Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since 1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the White House.
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Major Barrett departs the White House with President Eisenhower on July 12, 1957 for Camp David.
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September of 1957 marked the beginning of an additional mission which made the Squadron unique. While vacationing in Newport , Rhode Island, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was required to return to the Capital on short notice. He flew the first portion of that trip, from Newport to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, aboard an HMX-1 UH-34, thus marking the first time that an American President had flown in a Marine helicopter. With that first flight, President Eisenhower realized the usefulness of the helicopter and continued to fly with HMX-1 for the remainder of his term.
Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation, seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional limousine motorcade. The HMX-1 Nighthawks squadron put into the president’s service was initially administered jointly by the Army and the Marine Corps.
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During his second term, Eisenhower used a Bell UH-13-J Sioux to fly to the Presidential
Retreat at Camp David and to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania |
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| Army H-34C of the Executive Flight Detachment and Marine HUS-1 of HMX-1 |
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev 1959 visit to the United States was
off to a rocky start before President Dwight D. Eisenhower offered an impromptu
tour of Washington, D.C., in one of his new whirly-birds. The premier was so
impressed that he made a point of ordering his own helicopters to use back home.
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| Soviet Premier Khrushchev waiting departure with President Eisenhower, summer, 1958 |
According to the White House Military Office, presidents since Eisenhower have used the Sikorsky VH-3D, otherwise known as a Sea King, for travel both in the continental United States and abroad. Most presidential helicopter flights depart and arrive from the White House’s south lawn.
During its presidential service, the helicopter was known either as Marine One or Army One, depending on whether Marine or Army pilots were operating the craft.
The helicopter, with seats for sixteen, has a seat reserved for the president and the first lady, and single, smaller seats for the two Secret Service agents who always flew with the presidential party. Wherever the helicopter carrying a US President flies, it is met on the ground by at least one soldier in full dress uniform.
Army One was the callsign of any United States Army aircraft carrying the President of the United States. From 1957 until 1976, this was usually an Army helicopter transporting the President. Prior to 1976, responsibility for helicopter transportation of the President was divided between the Army and the U.S. Marine Corps until the Marine Corps was given the sole responsibility of transporting the President by helicopter. In 1976 President Jimmy Carter, as a cost cutting move, disbanded the Army’s Executive Flight Detachment and the Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron One took over all helicopter operations.
Since 1976 the official presidential helicopter has always been called Marine One, just as the official presidential airplane is always referred to as Air Force One. Marine One and a second decoy helicopter now accompany Air Force One on all presidential trips
Having established a record of safety and reliability, HMX-1 today continues to provide helicopter transportation for the President and Vice President of the United States as well as for Cabinet members and foreign dignitaries as authorized by the Director of the White House Military Office.
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| Marine One Sikorsky VH-3D landing on the south lawn |
The Squadron also supports the President on overseas visits and has operated in over fifteen foreign countries. "Marine One," the President's helicopter, has landed at such distant and exotic places as England's Windsor Castle, Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Bolivar Square in Bogota, Colombia, and even in the Demilitarized Zone of South Korea.
The critical nature of these missions requires that only highly qualified and experienced pilots fly HMX-1 aircraft. For assignment to HMX-1, all officers are carefully screened both for aeronautical ability and for superior military performance. Each officer must also have completed a significant amount of training within the Squadron as a copilot prior to becoming a White House Helicopter Aircraft Commander. Crew chiefs and other maintenance personnel are also selected for assignment to HMX-1 based on exceptional performance and integrity while assigned to squadrons of the Fleet Marine Force. The helicopters that these exceptional Marines fly are the finest and most meticulously maintained in the world. The foremost of these is the Sikorsky VH-3D (Shown Above), a unique aircraft outfitted and configured for Presidential use. Its sophisticated onboard communications system allows the President and his staff access to all essential government agencies, and with a cruise speed of 115 knots (119 MPH) and range of 450 nautical miles, it is a versatile and reliable means of transportation for the Commander in Chief. It can carry14 passengers but is limited to 10 for Presidential flights. The nature of the Squadron's multifaceted mission requires that it operate several types of helicopters in addition to the VH-3D.
The VH-lN is the Executive version of the UH -1 N" Huey." Its comfortable interior and special communications package make it a viable helicopter for the President's use, and because it is easily transportable, it is an ideal aircraft for use overseas. To enable members of the press to accompany the President when he travels by helicopter, HMX-1 operates two types of transport aircraft.
The larger and more commonly used of the two is the CH-53D Sea Stallion. It is a fast, long-range helicopter capable of carrying 34 press, White House staff members, or other passengers.
The CH-46E Sea Knight is an extremely versatile aircraft also used to carry up to 20 press or White House staff. The rear ramps of the CH-53 and CH-46 allow for expeditious entry and exit of the press corps and their equipment.
Not every Marine Corps helicopter taking off from the South Lawn holds the president. On July 4, 1986, a CH-46 helicopter transported White House Executive Chef Henry Haller and food for a luncheon to New York City for President Ronald Reagan and French President François Mitterrand to enjoy on the occasion of the Fourth of July and the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Combined, these aircraft enable the Marines of Marine Helicopter Squadron One to provide only the finest service for the President of the United States.
HMX-1, the unit that mans the president’s Marine One helicopter, will use the aircraft for so-called “greenside” missions. They will support White House travels by shuttling essential equipment, personnel and even VIPs, although the aircraft are unlikely to transport the president himself. He only rides on one of two custom-designed helicopter models — the older Sikorsky VH-3D and the newer VH-60N, a modified Black Hawk.
Sikorsky VH-60N White Hawk
On August 11, 2013 two MV-22 Ospreys made their presidential debut ferrying Secret Service agents, White House staff, and members of the media from CGAS Cape Cod to Martha's Vineyard during the President's vacation. As of 2015, HMX-1 has 12 Sikorsky VH-3D of 1960s' vintage, 8 Sikorsky VH-60N from the 80s/90s era and 12 Bell-Boeing MV-22 Ospreys.
The new HMX-1 V-22 Osprey will replace the medium-lift capability provided by the CH-46 Sea Knight – better known as the PHROG – which has been in service since the early ’60s. In addition to the spit and polished green paint job, the VIP kits include black carpets, the HMX-1 logo emblazoned on the tail ramp, seat covers and walls and ceilings that hide the tangle of wires and hydraulic lines inside the cabin.
The new Sikorsky VH-92A is under development to serve as the next generation of Marine One aircraft.
This photograph is from a 2018 test landing and takeoff on the South Lawn.
The President relies on a fleet of helicopters for transportation that has been in service for decades. The mission of the presidential helicopter fleet is to provide safe, reliable, and timely transportation in support of the President. The Navy plans to acquire 23 new VH-92A, to replace the current Marine Corps fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N aircraft.
For Marine One, the future of presidential helicopter transport will be the VH-92A, which is based on Sikorsky’s successful S-92A commercial aircraft that has over one million flight hours worldwide. Sikorsky will soon begin building the first six of 23 new VH-92A helicopters for HMX-1. These new medium-lift transportation aircraft will have two powerful turboshaft engines producing 2,520 shp each using a four-blade main rotor. It has the potential to travel 190 mph with a range of 621 miles. Initial delivery of VH-92A presidential helicopters is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2020 with production ending in fiscal year 2023.
The tradition of Marine One continues today, Combined, these aircraft enable the Marines of Marine Helicopter Squadron One to provide only the finest service for the President of the United States.
WHCA Mobile Communication Vehicles |
 | 2018 WHCA Roadrunner
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Type of Activity | Establish Communications Support Vehicle |
Location |
Location | Washington DC |
Date of Activity | Mid 1975 to present |
Coordinates |
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The fixed microwave network which connected the Early Presidential Emergency Facilities (PEF) were decommissioned in early 1970 and members of the unit were re-assigned to and relocated across the United States. This new mission would require a small group of specialized members that could master the requirements and training needed to operate geographically dispersed and separated from the WHCA headquarters. The formation of the Communications Contingency Teams (CCT) was the Agency’s answer to this new need. These teams were strategically placed to support the President in his role as National Command Authority (NCA) and played an important role in the Continuity Of Government (COG) communications support plan established during the height of the Cold War. These teams started in Ft. Richie, MD, Key Biscayne, FL and San Clemente, CA but over time moved to El Toro, CA, Andrews AFB, MD and Berryville, VA. The CCT was ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, all the team’s communications equipment was loaded on pallets where it could be loaded on a truck or an aircraft could pull up and load equipment and personnel to be deployed.
The CCT started to work with the first man portable satellite terminals in 1975, but it wasn’t used in the WHCA Communication vehicles until the early 1980’s. These terminals did become part of the standard overseas trip package used for communications support of the President and USSS worldwide.
Four AN/TSC-90 satellite communications terminals were delivered to the White House Communications Agency during 1975. These special transportable terminals were developed under contract with International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Nutley, New Jersey. The terminals are intended for special purpose contingency operation with the DSCS. The packaging design makes it possible for easier installation and operation in difficult access-locations. The round satellite dish was separated in four pieces for easier transportation and installation on Embassy and hotel roofs.
During June 1975, WHCA was provided with the digital communications subsystem consisting of two (2) MD-921 BPSK modems one (1) TD 660 PCM multiplexer and one (1) ES-2 echo suppressor. This equipment was interfaced with the AN/TSC-90 satellite communications terminal and was used for the presidential system during his visit to Helsinki, Finland in 19 July 1975. WHCA CCT’s were involved with initial testing and deployment of these systems to insure compatibility with the Mobile Vehicle Command Post concept and the existing Communication systems. WHCA was ready to deploy these systems in permanently equipped vehicles with some of the existing CCT’s.
CCT’s Develop and deploy the Coyote Communications Vehicle
In 1980-time frame, ITT and WHCA signed a contract to acquire, and take possession of, and move, all TSC-90 test equipment and related spares equipment to Camp David. DCSU then became the TSC-90 depot maintenance facility for this unique communications capability. DCSU CCTS received a TSC-90 terminal and one was retained at Camp David. The AN/TSC-90 transportable systems would allow a moving vehicle to communicate, through trip site switchboards, with locations anywhere in the world.
One of the first fully equipped vans arrived at the Fort Ritchie CCT in the 1980-1981 time-frame when Ray Millaway was the Commander. WHCA leased the motorhome used for Coyote and the carpenter shop built the cabinetry for all the equipment and a copper screen was covered with fiberglass on the roof of the van and painted it for a ground plane to mount the antennas.
Coyote is the name given to the WHCA designated total communication systems mounted on a 24 foot Transtar motorhome which could be loaded on a C-141 or a C 5 aircraft for rapid deployment’. It was designed to provide quick reaction presidential quality telecommunications and contained all of the trip capabilities normally installed during Presidential travel worldwide.
The Coyote vehicle was rarely used during normally scheduled motorcades. It was used if there was a ‘short-notice, down n’ dirty’ trip. Used mostly when the President wanted to visit a site and there wasn’t enough time to install a normal Trip Site configuration. Coyote would become the Primary WHCA Net Control Station (NCS), SWBD and Commcenter. Coyote was used on several short-notice contingency trips, e.g., President Carter’s visit to Three-Mile Island Nuclear Mishap and President Reagan’s visit to White Walnut Hill, Culpepper, VA.
The contingency communications mission of DCSU was changed again in the early 80's, thus receiving additional personnel authorization for the buildup of the Communications Support Teams (CST's). By 1983 all the CCT teams were re-designated from Contingency Communications Team to Communications Support Team and made strategic geographic moves, i.e., Carswell Communications Support Team (CST). Carswell AFB, Texas, and the Luke Communications Support Team (CST). Luke AFB, AZ.
Like the CCT’s before them the CST’s became highly mobile groups that could be deployed at a moment’s notice. Strategically placed to be responsive to any nuclear or terrorist threat being able to provide emergency communications for the Continuation of Government (COG). The CST’s also played a pivotal role in the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.
CST’s deploy Coach Vehicles (REVCON motorhome)
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CST Coach during the 1984 Normandy France Reagan trip (40th Anniversary of the invasion) |
The motorhomes were special order vehicles from Revcon and were generally used for the Primary COG Mission at the CSTs. Because of its’ organic equipment capabilities, it was often selected for use on OVERSEAS trips. These units were never designed for motorcades, but as a stationary base for all Presidential and Secret Service communications.
The Revcon Communication Coach vehicles carried all necessary equipment required to providing the worldwide communications necessary to support the White House while traveling.
1) Switchboard
2) Commcenter
3) FM and HF Radios
4) TSC-90 satellite terminal
5) AN/GRC-103 Tac Pac consisting of 3 rec, 3 trans, 3 TD-660, 4 KG-27
6) TRC-157 uhf full duplex satellite terminal
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Luke CST Coach 1985 in Bonn Germany,
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Initially there were five Revcon custom built motorhomes delivered to WHCA. The interiors were then modified and equipped by the WHCA Fabrication Branch and the Electronics Branch in the early 1980’s at the Anacostia NAS complex.
Deployment of these vehicles were as follows.
1) The team at Andrews AFB was renamed Communications Support Team (CST) in 1982 but support stayed the same
a) In February 1983 Andrews Detachment received two Revcon Communications Coaches from Special Projects office Coaches #2 and #3.
2) By 1983 all the CCT teams were renamed from Contingency Team to Support Team and made a strategic move, the Virginia Contingency Communications Team (CCT), was re-designated as the Carswell Communications Support Team (CST). Carswell AFB, Texas. Carswell CST activated 1 August 1983
a) On 1 April 1983 Virginia Detachment received one Revcon Communications Coach from Special Projects office. Coach #5 and was moved to Carswell CST when the Detachment was activated
3) Effective 6 September 1983, the Fort Ritchie Contingency Communications Team (CCT) was re-designated as the Luke Communications Support Team (CST). Luke AFB, AZ. Luke CST was activated on 6 September 1983.
a) Two Revcon Communications Coaches #3 and #4 (originally one positioned at Fort Ritchie CCT and at the Andrews CCT.
The CST Coaches’ had horizontal black radio antennas, and big slide-out generators on both sides of the rear. These units were totally self-contained and always available.
There were standard Roadrunner equipment packages that could be installed in rental vans configured and stored at Anacostia for trips that required normal motorcade support. WHCA Operations would call out that package whenever trips required extended motorcades and/or a WHCA/USSS vehicle presence to act as NCS. The CST’s also maintained the capability to build a Roadrunner Rental Van if required.)
Due to changes in Missions, Roles and Responsibilities, it is believed that WHCA relinquished ownership and control of the Revcon coaches directly to FEMA to use in emergency situations and threats to national security. There were many mission changes primarily caused by political and military COG decisions involving the White House, DISA (old DCA), DoD and FEMA.
Air Transportable Integrated Communications System (ATICS)
WHCA had one transportable platform, the Coach, this platform was a modified REVCON motorhomes that were designed in the mid 1980’s in two basic configurations. One configuration was to meet the needs of an in and out trip and the other was a trunking platform designed to consolidate long haul systems, both WHCA and commercial carriers.
WHCA’s mission was expanded and the Coach was no longer able to reliably. economically, or effectively meet mission requirements. Telecommunications support had undergone several changes. The Coach could no longer meet all the necessary equipment and the vehicular platforms and could no longer be economically maintained the Coach’s mission effectiveness is too limited to serve the current mission.
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The ATCIS transportable communications hub
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The ATICS vehicle was designed to replace the aging “Coach platform as an all-purpose communications hub vehicle. This is an ambitious endeavor considering the demands and flexibility required of a WHCA hub site. The van was procured to replace two older communication assemblages the Revcon “Coach” that had reached the end of their life cycle.
The ATICS is a custom semi-trailer was designed and capable of self-loading on an either a C-141 or a C-5 aircraft although it was debatable if all trip equipment, trip personnel, and luggage would fit on a C-141. It is equipped to perform as a travel hub except it has no WHCA office.
A mobile platform such as Coach or ATICS, is best suited to situations that have limited indoor space, little setup time, adequate parking, and limited power. Overnight visits with a mobile hub is not desirable because of the cramped workspace and lack of facilities.
The ATCIS van operates in an environment that is void of any communications infrastructure. It is not a van that you would like to place in a highly populated and density area. When the scenario presents itself, that van will be used.
Two ATICS units were ordered and are were delivered in May 1995. The contract also had an option to add six additional units which were canceled primarily due to ever changing mission requirements and technological advancement with communication equipment. WHCA decommissioned the ATCIS platform in the late 90’s.
The Roadrunner Concept and development
The WHCA trip packages had not changed much by the mid 80’s, other than they were traveling with Dimension PBX electronic switchboards instead of the mini boards; otherwise you would not have noticed much of a difference in the trip environment. The Motorola radios got smaller and then added Data Encryption Standard (DES) which was a headache because sometimes the key change for the network would change while in route to a trip location. Each radio needed to be keyed with a device called a "squirt gun" and at a designated time the new key would take effect. Later a reserve key was loaded at the same time if someone needed to remotely update because of a lost radio. The White House Staff just couldn't understand that some of the safe guards about tampering with a "lost" radio would cause it to dump the key codes and only be available in clear mode. All of radio nets have been encrypted with DES and it was an issue when someone dumped the memory and needed to re-key the code at a trip site.
The only thing different in the Commenter in 1987 to the Model 28 TTY paper tape 100 baud noisy machines, was the owner of the finger prints on the boxes. The crypto element was now reduced to a controlled "credit card" sized module like DirecTV. No more guarding the boxes and they don't have to go through the load the plane routine or calling in Sky Marshals on commercial flights.
The USSS still had all the same radio frequencies, but about 1986 they had an encrypted cellular site in the EOB. The Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) would route all calls from Electronic Serial Number (ESN's) assigned to the White House to that cellular hub and they were drawing White House Centrex dial tone, plus it was capable of encryption over the non-copper segments.
The Roadrunner project was given to DCSU in the mid 1970's and to the outlying Detachments to come up with several ideas, most of which required the use of rental vans. At the same time the CCT’s at San Clemente and Key Biscayne were tasked with coming up with ideas for an application that would allow a motorcade communications vehicle to communicate with Washington.
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1978 Roadrunner Rental Vans
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Many different configurations were tried but the initial roadrunners were just rental vans with the seats removed and the WHCA radio and COMM Center equipment was installed temporarily for the duration of the trip. The original Roadrunner interiors were built by the WHCA Fabrication Branch and was equipped and wired by Electronics Branch.
The first WHCA mobile Communications Van (Roadrunner) was a plywood pallet that was slipped into a Ford Econoline Van with a Model 28 TTY, and a 19" rack of base stations. WHCA used the old "ALPHA" FM frequency and transmitted TTY back to CROWN, The WHCA Fabrication Branch also built the brackets to temporarily mount the Honda generator on rental vans, when Roadrunner stopped, the team would hop out and start a small Honda Generator strapped to the bumper for power. Whenever you would hit a bump the generator would disappear and then it would bounce back.... Back when bumpers were still real bumpers.
While in route there was a power inverter, but the RPM's of the engine needed to be in a roar to maintain voltages and lots of blown fuses and plenty of burned up power supplies in the beginning. The main ingredients for a Roadrunner back then was a rental van, a roll of Mylar to blacken out all the windows, Duct tape, and Ty raps.
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Roadrunner Van 1978
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The equipment was usually placed on the floor of the van and duct taped to something to secure it from sliding around. Empty equipment boxes and empty bell boxes were used to elevate the equipment off the floor, don't forget an occasional milk crate to Ty-wrap equipment on the bench seat and suitcase radios bouncing around with two 9' mag mount whip antennas, but there was nothing like an 85-pound KW-7 landing in your lap while turning on a corner and a there was a generator strapped to the front of the van, we were told to just try to blend into the surroundings.
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Interior of blue Dodge Van in 1978
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Custom window tinting was installed on every rental van, courtesy of WHCA! No one could see the equipment and what specifically we were doing. Whenever President Reagan visited the ranch in Santa Barbara the Avis rental agency would give us a new van each trip just to have us install the Mylar. Some cities would ask us to remove it when we returned it, but it was usually left in place.
The rental vans had no sirens or lights, stock brakes, (carrying an additional 800 lbs of equipment). This made for some interesting driving in heavy traffic in the larger cities while, trying to keep up with the Presidential motorcade was a real challenge!
The rental Roadrunners were always being tweaked by DCSU and occasionally DCOU personnel to enhance the electrical converters and other vehicle issues identified by WHCA Transportation. They just kept jamming more equipment into the vans trying to make improvements until both the weight and power consumption were no longer viable.
There was a standard Roadrunner equipment package configured and stored at WHCA HQ in Anacostia for Trips. WHCA Operations would ‘call out’ that package whenever trips required extended motorcades and/or a WHCA/USSS vehicle presence to act as the Primary WHCA Net Control Station (NCS).
There was a special unit at Anacostia that was researching technology and came up with a lot of "Vehicle Trunking" ideas and that was the birth of the SATCOM in a permanent Suburban. All voice and data would effectively be relayed and up linked directly to Camp David then thru to the White House.
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One of the first Permanent WHCA Roadrunners (Chevrolet Suburban)
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The first fully equipped Roadrunner vehicle became a permanent part of the Presidential motorcade in 1986, It was a heavily modified Chevrolet or GM Suburban equipped with protective armor, run flat tires, vehicle transponder, and turbocharger. The most obvious feature is a configurable antennae platform mounted on the roof. This contains a large SATCOM dome containing a tracking dish that serves as the data up link and down link as the primary communications path for the motorcade back to the White House. Also, on the roof were smaller VHF antennas that serve as a repeater for the other motorcade elements as well as another communications path to local authorities and the on site WHCA/USSS office. VHF antenna configuration changes according to the mission operational requirements. This also serves as the hub for the LCP or Limousine Control Package that allows C2 functions to be performed from USSS control cars, the presidential parade limo or the presidential suburban.
The White House Communications Agency Roadrunner Vehicle is also known as the MCV (Mobile Command and Control Vehicle). The vehicle serves as the communications hub for the motorcade by encrypting duplex radio which in turn is beamed up to a military satellite which in turn beams that data back down to a ground entry point at Camp David and through to the WHCA switchboard.
Now that we have the Internet and cellular network, the role of WHCA is somewhat limited to Command and Control circuits. Camp David is the satellite down link point and all trip sites carry small suitcase multiplexers and pull in mini-cells in the hotel and they have the White House Centrex available on their permanently assigned smart phones. All staff members carry encrypted personal digital assistant (PDA's) so the comm. center is basically out of business on the road other than to assemble the news summary and the program database (PDB) so I have been told.
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The Clinton Bus Tour 1992 Roadrunner a Ford E350 4x4
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The newer WHCA Roadrunners are electronic platforms built into a Ford E350 4x4 Econoline with an extended cab platform was adapted in 1992 the van was ordered with a 460 V-8 engine with two generators one under the hood as well as one in the rear both ran off the vehicles gas tank. These vans were also equipped with 4 batteries that were contained in a box behind the driver’s door and equipped with front and rear heat and AC.
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1994 E350 WHCA Roadrunner
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1995 E350 WHCA Roadrunner
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Once the van was received it was turned over to the WHCA Fabrication shop and the Electronic shop to finish the interior and have all the equipment installed, a satellite dome, a full complement of FM base stations, and a trunking satellite mini-cellular so the event site could link back to Camp David and receive a White House dial tone.
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1995 E350 WHCA Roadrunner
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Although the Roadrunner vehicles can easily be loaded on an aircraft such as a C141 or C-5 it is often more economical and efficient to transport them by another way. WHCA has several especially designed semi-trailers to transport the Roadrunner vehicles to and from trip sites and HQ in Anacostia.
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Roadrunner unloading from a WHCA owned Semi Trailer
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Roadrunner unloading from a WHCA owned Semi Trailer
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WHCA replaced the Satellite antenna housing around 2008 because the old one kept getting ripped off in parking garages and other low clearance locations, one was lost when the vehicle was driven under the wing of a transport.
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2003 Roadrunner with old SATCOM Housing
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2005 Roadrunner with old SATCOM Housings
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WHCA replaced the antenna housing because the old one kept getting ripped off in parking garages (Above). Here are WHCA Roadrunners as (Below) but with a new SATCOM antenna housings.
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2008 WHCA Roadrunner with new SATCOM Housing
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2011 WHCA Roadrunner with new SATCOM Housing
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One of the most significant problems that WHCA has had in providing mobile communications is the position Roadrunner has ended up in the Presidential motorcade behind the ambulance and from that location, modern communications to the Presidential limo is a challenge. With the new roadrunner the position in the motorcade is no longer a problem.
WHCA "Roadrunner Today
In the spring of 2018 The White House Communications Agency and the Secret Service have received a new and much improved "Roadrunner.". Today's Roadrunner has one of the most critical jobs in today’s motorcade, keeping the President and their entire support apparatus connected to the outside world. As such, it also has a critical command and control function to play.
In decades past, this capability mainly included secure voice communications and coordination of services for key personnel, but today it is far more complicated than that, with the Internet and streaming services being a critical tool for everyone to have at their fingertips. Roadrunner is constantly on the run developmentally speaking.
It must adapt to changing times and technologies, incorporating new systems while decommissioning old ones, all the while still maintaining constant and reliable service for the President's daily travels.
"Roadrunner, also known as the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (MC2V) and is one of the most conspicuous vehicles in Motorcade. A beefed-up Suburban, it houses a large satellite communications array and posts an antenna farm along its roof-line
This vehicle keeps the President and White House officials securely connected to the world, providing encrypted voice, Internet and video communications via the Pentagon’s constellation of hardened communications satellites.
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Just three occupants are carried in the truck's six-door custom cabin. |
Roadrunner also helps facilitate secure communications within the Motorcade itself. Think of it as a big rolling data encryption center, Wi-Fi hotspot, radio repeater and doomsday communications control center.
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WHCA Roadrunner in Las Vegas (2018)
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So beyond providing what is the equivalent of highly-secure rolling router and making sure the President can order a nuclear strike from The Presidential Limo at any given time, the White House Communications Agency and the Secret Service must work directly with the USAF (AF-1) and USMC (HMX-1) to keep all the President's aircraft up to the latest standard as well. In fact, Air Force One just went through a similar satellite communications upgrade that brings far higher bandwidth and networking capabilities to the flying White House.
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Presidential Motorcade 2018
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Presidential Motorcade in Florida 2018
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So, it's not hard to imagine that this new, and more noticeable system offers a huge leap in capacity. The photo of the new vehicle also shows a UHF satellite communications antenna attached to the roof mounting system.
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Departure from Florida rally 2018
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The Presidential Motorcade newest member the WHCA Roadrunner is likely to get some special media attention in the coming months as it heads away from Washington, D.C. on missions to places where the motorcade is far from a normal sight. In the meantime, it's good to know that the President, their staff, and the Secret Service, can communicate better than ever before while on-the-move.
The Presidential Motorcade |
 | The Presidential Motorcade ready to roll.
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Type of Activity | Establish Communications Support |
Location |
Location | Washington DC |
Date of Activity | |
Coordinates |
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The Presidential Motorcade is built from a fleet of both custom and sometimes rented vehicles. A finite number of Presidential limousines exist, with between 16 and 20 being an estimate. Careful planning and a logistical planning must take place to pre-position the most capable (and usually newest) vehicles based on the threat level and operating environment at each destination.
It is not uncommon of for the President to visit three separate cities during a single day, especially during campaign season. That means three separate motorcade detachments need to be forward deployed to those cities. This is done via USAF heavy-transports such as C-17s, or on some occasions, a single C-5 Galaxy.
The Presidential Motorcade is both the safest and seemingly the riskiest convoy on the planet. A comparison of today’s Presidential Limousine “The Beast” and that of JFK’s “Bubble Top” shows the stark differences in the level of security features that have been added in today’s limousine.
When President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, he was riding in a motorcade through Dallas in the 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible.
Completely open at the top, the car, code-named Stagecoach, had no armor or bullet-proof elements whatsoever, a fact incomprehensible today.
The tires were not bulletproof. There was no bulletproof glass. It did have a removable plastic top, but, again, it was just Plexiglas, no bullet resistance in that material. It's amazing to think of it, but they just didn't anticipate that kind of problem. The motorcade did not have any medical support, nor did it have procedures in place to respond to emergency situations.
The custom-built car cost $200,000 and had features including retractable steps for Secret Service agents and two radio telephones provided by WHCA.
Following Kennedy's assassination, the car was driven directly back to the White House, so it could be examined as part of the investigation.
'They determined that the most practical thing to do was just to rebuild this existing car rather than to start from scratch, so, yes, they took the car down to the frame and rebuilt it as a true armored vehicle.
The biggest change they made in modifying the car was putting in a permanent roof that could not be removed, and they surrounded the whole vehicle with bullet-resistant glass.
President Lyndon, Johnson seen here in the Presidential limo with wife Ladybird, never liked traveling in the car in which President Kennedy had been killed.
The White House approved a plan for a re-vamp of the car in December 1963.
It was completely armored; a top was added, and it was given a paint-job in 'regal Presidential Blue Metallic with silver metallic flakes that glitter under bright lights and sunshine.'
Lyndon Johnson was two cars behind Kennedy the day of the assassination. After he was sworn in as president, he occasionally had to ride in the car, but Johnson was never comfortable riding in the car and avoided it whenever possible.
He disliked the blue paint job the car had been given because it was similar to the original color, so it was promptly painted black. When President Nixon had use of the car, he had a hole cut in the roof as a hatch, so that he could stand up and wave at crowds.
Presidents Ford and Carter also used the car, until it finally reached its usefulness and it was finally retired in 1977. The Bubble Top is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit MI.
This globe-trotting fleet of vehicles is basically a rolling, armored White House, complete with its own contingency response force, communications office, press corps and medical facilities.
Today's Presidential Limousine has many safety features incorporated in its exterior and interior as indicated below:
The exact configuration of the motorcade changes depending on the mission and the assets at hand, but there is a basic layout. Sometimes extra cars are added in different positions, and just because the Presidential limousines are in motion, the President isn't necessarily inside one of them.
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A pair of Presidential Limos are loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster III.
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In addition to the Presidential Motorcade being forward deployed to where the President is heading, it is now usually customary to deploy a pair of Presidential Airlift helicopters belonging to Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, otherwise known as HMX-1.
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The "The Beast," and AF-1 during a Presidential Visit
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The Beast and HMX-1 arriving at a Presidential visit.
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Generally, the Presidential Motorcade is made up of the following components:
Route Car & Pilot Car
The Route Car runs minutes ahead of the Presidential Motorcade, presumably checking the route and providing guidance for inbound "sweepers" [see below] while also providing intelligence to the entire motorcade. The Pilot Car does the same but runs a minute or even just seconds in front of the motorcade. It may be accompanied by motorcycle police to cut off key intersections and highway overpasses.
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Motorcade Pilot Car
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Sweepers
These are usually throngs of police on motorcycles and in patrol cars as part of a Presidential Motorcade. They deploy in front of the motorcade, clearing the way so that the motorcade’s speed can remain as consistent. |
Sweepers
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Lead Car
The lead of the core of the Presidential Motorcade formation. It works as a guide and a buffer for what lies ahead. It can be a Secret Service Suburban, a local marked police car, or really any car the Secret Service chooses.
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Lead Car
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Presidential Limousine: Code Name "Stagecoach" or "Spare"
The Presidential limousine rides at the very center of the motorcade “package.” What appears to be a very heavy Cadillac is really an extremely survivable and luxurious armored car. "The Beast" as latest addition to Presidential limo history is known, is outfitted with many unique capabilities and countermeasures, each one aimed at keeping the President safe and allowing him to rapidly evade danger during an attack, whether direct (ambush) or indirect (gassing a city, etc.).
The Beast's defense capabilities include top-level ballistic armoring, night vision/infrared driving systems, a sealed cabin with an independent air supply capable of enduring a nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) attack, and even a supply of the President’s blood type. All of this is in addition to a state-of-the-art communications connectivity system, including internet and secure telephone communications.
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Stagecoach and spare awaiting Departure
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'Stagecoach,' is the name for whatever car the President is in and of course is the whole focus of Presidential Motorcade. Everything is centered on making sure that car makes it to its destination. In addition to 'Stagecoach,' at least one identical car always accompanies it, and sometimes many more. These cars, known as 'Spares,' are used as a backup and blocking vehicle should POTUS's vehicle have a mechanical issue or is attacked, as well a serving as decoys.
While the motorcade is in motion, highly trained Secret Service drivers execute a classic roving 'shell game,' weaving Stagecoach and Spare, or Spares, in and out among each other so that a would-be attacker would have a tough time picking the car containing the President. The Presidential limousines even have identical plates.
Presidential Security Detail SUV: Code Named "Halfback"
Halfback is the following car for Stagecoach and Spare(s), and it carries the President's Secret Service protective detail. Usually this vehicle is a specially outfitted Chevrolet Suburban with police lights mounted on a light bar, in the interior windows, and in the grill. This is basically the President's first line of backup should something occur while enroute, and it will follow a pre-planned set of defensive driving and VIP protection tactics based on a long list of contingencies. Rear-facing third row seating usually has at least one overtly armed Secret Service Agent sitting with the window or tailgate open.
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The President's security detail riding in Halfback.
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Electronic Countermeasures Vehicle Code Name: “Watchtower”
This vehicle has large vertical aerials and domes on its spine and actively jams communications and remote detonating devices. In some configurations, it may also work at detecting incoming projectiles and small unmanned aircraft via short-wave radar.
This vehicle, along with others in the motorcade, may also provide laser warning and radar warning for the convoy. If a threat is detected, such as one using a laser for designation and ranging, or if a threat radar were detected, IR smoke, chaff and targeted jamming could be deployed, disrupting such an attack.
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ECM vehicle Watchtower
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Support Vehicles
Support Vehicles usually transport high-value staff, such as parts of the President's cabinet and their security detail, as well as additional security personnel and the President's doctor.
Counter Assault Team Vehicles: Nicknamed "Hawkeye Renegade"
These vehicles are also usually black Suburban’s or some other large SUV, with police lights, rails and running boards for external transport of agents, and they always have their rear gates ajar with a heavily armed and armored commando hanging out of the back.
The Secret Service's Counter Assault Team, known as the 'CAT,' gives the Presidential Motorcade its heavy hitting combat punch. These elite Secret Service operators, selected from a tiny fraction of those who apply, carry state-of-the-art arms, including assault rifles, night vision goggles, expendables like flash bangs and concussion grenades, and sometimes heavy body armor.
The CAT is the direct-action unit that rapidly counter-attacks if the convoy is ambushed, or it sets up a defensive buffer if the convoy were about to be attacked. Meanwhile, the President's Security Detail would work to rapidly evacuate the President from the scene.
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The heavily-armed CAT riding in one of the motorcade's Suburban’s.
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Intelligence Division Vehicle: The "ID Car"
This vehicle works as a 'big picture' intelligence node, communicating with over-watch and surveillance units, local police, and other intelligence sources about possible threats or obstacles along the motorcade's route. The agents in this car try to identify problems before they occur.
Hazard Materials Mitigation Unit.
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Hazmat Unit
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This black work truck carries sensors to detect, and gear to respond to, nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) weapons attacks that threaten the Motorcade. It also works as a roving storage vehicle, carrying supplies and other classified capabilities.
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Hazmat Unit in the center of motorcade
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Press Vans
These vehicles are usually large vans that carry the White House Press Corps in the motorcade. Obviously, this space is reserved for major news outlets and the White House media team. This includes a camera, wire and general press vans.
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Press Corps Vans
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The White House Communications Agency Vehicle: Code Name "Roadrunner"
The Control Vehicle carries a top military aid with the highest level of clearance, who would assist the Commander-in-Chief during a major military incident, giving operational guidance, and if need be, activating the Nuclear Football. These vehicles are usually modified SUVs, such as Chevrolet Suburban’s with enhanced communications and low-profile police lighting or sometimes rented vans.
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WHCA Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (Roadrunner)
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Mobile Command and Control Vehicle
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Roadrunner, also known as the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle, is one of the most conspicuous vehicles in Motorcade. A beefed-up Suburban, it houses a large satellite communications array and posts an antenna farm along its roof-line.
"The Mobile Communications Vehicle (MCV) is built on a Ford Super Duty truck platform modified to maximize payload with an overall appearance of a six-door sport utility vehicle with air ride suspension. The MCV includes a structurally reinforced 5 slice antenna platform that incorporates an omni-directional satellite mount.
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Just three occupants are needed in the truck's six-door custom cabin.
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This vehicle keeps the President and White House officials securely connected to the world, providing encrypted voice, internet and video communications via the Pentagon’s constellation of hardened communications satellites. This vehicle may also be able to handle communications for nuclear arms release.
Roadrunner also helps facilitate secure communications within the Motorcade itself. Think of it as a big rolling data encryption center, Wi-Fi hotspot, radio repeater and doomsday communications control center.
Ambulance
An ambulance is a constant feature at the rear of the Presidential Motorcade. It is there to treat injuries that may occur following an attack, a wreck or an unexpected biological event. This resource is primarily reserved for the President.
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An ambulance is always in the rear in case of an Emergency.
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Rear Guard
This is usually a phalanx of local police vehicles, such as motorcycles and marked patrol cars. Their job is to provide early warning and a defensive buffer for the rear of the motorcade.
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Several police motorcycle officers makes up the Rear Guard.
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Although rarely deployed in Presidential travel, a pair of heavily modified and thickly armored buses were procured by the Secret Service around the turn of the decade. The joint project between Prevost Car and Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, known as the model X3-45 VIP 3, allows the President to travel more efficiently by road in rural areas when many stops are on the schedule.
Once delivered, these roving White Houses were painted gloss black and had advance communications installed to interconnect them with Roadrunner and the world beyond, as well as other improvements like what you would find in the Presidential limousine. Both limo buses were used leading up to the 2012 election, Codename Ground Force One they can easily replace the Beast at any time in the motorcade!
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USSS Armored Bus
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This is the configuration of today’s Presidential Motorcade. I have had the pleasure to see the whole motorcade, wind their way through large cities and small towns with the greatest of ease, it is an amazing spectacle to watch.
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Getting into position for the Presidents Departure
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I've had the privilege to work Air Force One’s arrival and departure many times while I was in WHCA and I will never forget the feelings I had when I saw crews of AF-1, HMX-1 and the Motorcade execute their duties while transporting the President.
USSS Radio Frequencies and Codenames |
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Type of Activity | Motorcade Radio Communications Support |
Location |
Location | All Motorcades |
Date of Activity | Ongoing |
Coordinates | 38°53'51.2"N 77°02'20.9"W |
Presidential & Secret Service Radio Frequencies and Codenames
The United States Secret Service uses FM radio frequencies for all of their mobile communications between the protective details and the primary people they are assigned to protect. Whether they are in a motorcade, in the air or traveling by any other means, the Secret Service is always in touch with other agents on a worldwide basis. Code names for U.S. presidents, first ladies, and other prominent persons, organizations, groups and locations. The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition. The Secret Service does not choose these names, however. The White House Communications Agency assigns these names. WHCA was originally created as the White House Signal Detachment under Franklin Roosevelt.
The White House Communications Agency WHCA, is an agency of the White House Military Office, it is headquartered at Anacostia Navy Yard and consists of six staff elements and seven organizational units. WHCA also has supporting detachments in Washington, D.C. and various locations throughout the United States of America.
According to established protocol, 'good' code words are unambiguous words that can be easily pronounced and readily understood by those who transmit and receive voice messages by radio or telephone regardless of their native language. Traditionally, all family members' code names start with the same letter.
The codenames change over time for security purposes, but are often publicly known. For security, codenames are generally picked from a list of such 'good' words, but avoiding the use of common words which could likely be intended to mean their normal definitions.
CROWN: This is the radio callsign to the White House switchboard. When using Andrews ai-to- ground and you have a phone patch, you will tell Andrews to give you CROWN. CROWN will be able to locate your party quickly in most cases will have direct lines to anyone who might request. Use CROWN or radio link only.
CROWN CONTROL: This is the call sign assigned to the White House Tech Control which controls the FM systems. They control all ECHO/FOX transmitter sites and is the agency to activate the system prior to departure. Alert CROWN CONTROL and ask for an ECHO/FOX activation. This can be done by aircraft HF radio through Andrews, through SAM CP, by telephone (See your phone listings) or in the case when in the Andrews area, just called them on ECHO/FOX FM system.
CROWN RADIO: Controls all ECHO/FOX transmitter sites and is the agency to activate the system prior to departures and arrivals. Alerts CROWN CONTROL and ask for an ECHO/FOX activation.
SIGNAL: This is the call sign assigned to the White House Switchboard. This agency can extent ant telephone call to any office or place quickly. Use SIGNAL on landline links only.
WHCA DUTY OFFICER: Responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Signal Switchboard and the White House Communications Center. Also responsible for the coordination of communications at and between trip sites. Should be contacted if problems occur while operating with any facility. Can be contacted through the Signal switchboard, call sign CROSS BOW.
WHCA OPERATIONS DIVISION: Located in the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB). WHCA operations is responsible for the overall planning and operation of the White House Communications Agency. All communications in support of White House directed missions must be coordinated with the WHCA Operations prior to the mission.
SITUATION ROOM: The White House Situation room is the focal point for all incoming and outgoing communications for the President and his key staff members.
WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATION CENTER: Provides clear and secure teletype for the President. It’s facilities can be extended to any number of locations or agencies they can be extended via UHF MUX, HF, or Satellite to an aircraft anywhere in the world.
Presidential & Secret Service Radio Frequencies
032.2300 ABLE - WHCA - TRANSPORTATION
166.5125 ALPHA - ESCORT/SECURITY
165.7875 BAKER - FLD OFFC - PRES/VP/VIP ESCORTS - NATIONAL
165.3750 CHARLIE-FLD OFFC-PRIMARY/CP-NATIONAL
169.9250 DELTA-WHCA-VANS/PHONE PATCH/MARINE DETACH
407.8500 ECHO - AF1/AF2 - PHONE PATCH - UP LINK
415.7000 FOXTROT - AF1/AF2 - PHONE PATCH - DOWN LINK
166.4000 GOLF - FLD OFFC - CHARLIE REPEATER - INPUT
165.6875 HOTEL - WHCA - VP STAFF/WHITE HOUSE GARAGE
166.2125 HOTEL - PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION
167.9000 HOTEL - WHCA - VP STAFF/WHITE HOUSE GARAGE
166.2000 INDIA - HQ/PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION
407.9250 INDIA - HQ/PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION/TREASURY
170.0000 JULIET - CAMP DAVID PAGING
167.8250 KILO - PRESIDENTS RES (LBJ) PHONE - DUPLEX
168.7875 LIMA - PRESIDENTS RES (LBJ) PHONE - DUPLEX
165.2125 MIKE - FORMER PRESIDENTS/DIGNITARY PROTEC)
166.7000 NOVEMBER - WHCA - WHITE HOUSE STAFF
164.8875 OSCAR - PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION - PRIMARY
164.4000 PAPA - FLD OFF/WHITE HOUSE PERIMETER PATROLS
166.7000 QUEBEC - WHITE HOUSE STAFF
166.4000 ROMEO - X-RAY REPEATER - INPUT)
165.5125 SIERRA - WHCA - WHITE HOUSE STAFF/PAGERS
164.6500 TANGO - FLD OFF/PRESIDENT/VICE PRES PROTEC
165.0875 UNIFORM - AF1 - COMMUNICATIONS
361.6000 UNIFORM - AF1 - COMMUNICATIONS
164.1000 VICTOR - WHCA - PRESIDENT/VICE PRES PROTEC
167.0250 WHISKEY - PAGING
166.4625 X-RAY - TREASURY COMMON
162.6875 YANKEE - AF1/AF2 - PHONE PATCH - UP LINK
171.2875 ZULU - AF1/AF2 - PHONE PATCH - DOWN-LINK
Secret Service Codenames Locations/Groups/Organizations
ACROBAT ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MARYLAND
ANDY ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MARYLAND
ANGEL AIR FORCE ONE
BACKSEAT SECRET SERVICE MOTOR SCOOTER UNIT
BAGPIPE SECRET SERVICE LIAISON UNIT
BAMBOO PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE
BANDBOX SECRET SERVICE WHITE HOUSE UNIT
BASE TEMP RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT
BASEBALL USSS TRAINING DIVISION
BEEHIVE USSS TECH DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
BELLHOP ONE USSS ELLIPSE MOTOR SCOOTERS
BELLHOP TWO USSS WHITE HOUSE MOTOR SCOOTERS
BIG TOP USSS TREASURY SECURITY DIVISION
BIRDSEYE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BLACKBOARD USSS PROTECTIVE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION
BLACKTOP SECRET SERVICE FOREIGN MISSION UNIT
BLOWTORCH USSS EXECUTIVE PROTECTION COMMAND POST
BLUEPRINT USSS TECH SECURITY DIVISION
BOARDWALK USSS FOREIGN MISSION DIVISION
BOOKSTORE WHITE HOUSE COMM CENTER
BRIMSTONE REAGAN RANCH, CALIFORNIA
BROADSIDE NYC VIP PROTECTION COMMAND POST
BUCKEYE COTTAGE AT CAMP DAVID, MARYLAND
BUCKSHOT NYC SPECIAL COORDINATION CENTER
BULLDOG DC VIP PROTECTION COMMAND POST
BUNGALOW USSS FOREIGN MISSION SUBSTATION
CABLE BOY ADVANCE TEAM: MEXICO CITY (CARTER)
CACTUS CAMP DAVID, MARYLAND
CADRE WHCA PEF SITE R BLUE RIDGE SUMMITPA
CALIBER PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS
CALICO THE PENTAGON
CANDLESTICK VIP PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS CP
CANNONBALL WHCA PEF MERCERSBURG PA.
CARAVAN VP FOLLOW CAR (CARTER)
CARBINE ONE PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE
CARBINE CCT ANACOSTIA NAVAL AIR STATION, DC
CARGO MRS. MONDALE'S CAR
CAROUSEL AIR FORCE TWO
CARNATION CCT, FT RITCHIE, MD
CARPET ARMY GARAGE, WHITE HOUSE
CARTWHEEL WHCA PEF TENLEYTOWN MD
CASTLE SIGNAL CORP. SHOP, 26TH ST
CEMENT MIXER WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM
CENTRAL THE EOB
CHALLENGER PRESIDENTIAL NIGHTWATCH
CHAMPION AF2 (AGNEW)
CHANDELIER DEPARTMENT OF STATE
CHARCOAL TEMP RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT
CHARIOT MONDALE VEHICLE
CHECKERBOARD ADVANCE TEAM (CARTER)
CHECKMATE WHCA SHOP 3248 Mst NW
CITADEL WASHINGTON D.C. AREA
CLOUDBURST WHCA, ANACOSTIA NAVAL AIR STATION
CLOVERLEAF VICE PRESIDENT'S RESIDENCE
CLOSE BRUSH WASHINGTON D.C. AREA
COACH HOUSE DULLES AIRPORT, WASHINGTON DC
COBWEB VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
COMPANION BLAIR HOUSE, WASHINGTON DC
CORK FBI HQ
CORKSCREW WHCA PEF BOONSBORO MD.
COWPUNCHER WHCA PEF MARTINSBURG WV.
CROSSBOW WHCA OP'S DESK
CRATE PRESIDENTIAL RAILCAR
CROWN WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
CRYSTAL WHCA PEF MT WEATHER
CURBSIDE NATIONAL AIRPORT, WASHINGTON DC
DOG POUND PRESS AIRCRAFT
DRIFTWOOD CARTER HOME, GEORGIA
ELECTRIC NATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMAND AIRCRAFT
ELM CAMP DAVID, MARYLAND
FALCON PRESIDENT'S AIR COVER AIRCRAFT
FIRESIDE SECRETARY OF STATE RESIDENCE
FOGHORN STATE DEPARTMENT SECURITY DIVISION
FULLBACK STATE DEPARTMENT SECURITY VAN
HANDSHAKE SECRET SERVICE OFFICE
HALFBACK PRESIDENT'S FOLLOW VEHICLE
HEADLIGHT SECRET SERVICE GARAGE, WASHINGTON DC
HERCULES COUNTER-SNIPER RESPONSE TEAM
HEDGEHOG FIRE TRUCK
HILLTOP TREASURY DEPARTMENT
HOLLY ARMY HELICOPTER
HORSEHIDE AMBULANCE
HORSEPOWER WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTIVE DIV
HOT SHOT WHITE HOUSE
HUDSON NIXON OFFICE, NEW YORK
HUNTSMAN NEW YORK CITY SURVEILLANCE HELICOPTER
KNEECAP EMERGENCY ESCAPE AIRCRAFT
LIGHTFOOT MADISON HOTEL, WASHINGTON DC
LIZARD SECRET SERVICE MOBILE COMMAND POST
MAGIC HELICOPTER COORDINATION COMMAND POST
MARINE ONE PRESIDENT'S HELICOPTER
MARINE TWO VICE PRESIDENT'S HELICOPTER
NIGHTHAWK PRESIDENT'S HELICOPTER
PACEMAKER VICE PRESIDENT'S STAFF
PATROLLER VICE PRESIDENT'S HELICOPTER
PAVILION VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
PENINSULA NEW SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
PINCUSHION RAYBURN OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON DC
PIVOT MEDEVAC - BETHESDA, MARYLAND
PLAYGROUND HELICOPTER PAD, PENTAGON
PORK CHOP OLD SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
PROFESSOR LONGWORTH BUILDING, WASHINGTON, DC
PUNCH BOWL CAPITOL BUILDING
RIDGELINE REAGAN RESIDENCE, CALIFORNIA
RINGSIDE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK
ROADHOUSE WALDORF ASTORIA, NEW YORK
ROADRUNNER WHCA COMMUNICATIONS VAN
SANDSTONE REAGAN RESIDENCE, CALIFORNIA
SATURN VICE PRESIDENT'S AIRCRAFT
SHOTGUN NEW YORK CITY COMMAND POST
SIGNATURE MARINE 1 PRESIDENTIAL HELICOPTER
SKYMASTER ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE CP
SOFTPACK SHOTGUN USED BY THE USSS
STAGECOACH PRESIDENT'S LIMOUSINE
STOREROOM TRUMAN LIBRARY, MISSOURI
STORM KING NIXON RESIDENCE, NEW JERSEY
TOOL ROOM VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
TOWER ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MARYLAND
TRACER VICE PRESIDENT'S LEAD VEHICLE
TRACKER VICE PRESIDENT'S FOLLOW VEHICLE
TRAIL BREAKER VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICIAL LIMO
TRANQUILITY HQ DAILY IN NYC
TREASURE SHIP AIR FORCE TWO (REAGAN)
VOLCANO LBJ RANCH, TEXAS
WAREHOUSE SHERATON CENTER, NEW YORK
WHEELS DOWN PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT HAS LANDED
WHEELS UP PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT HAS DEPARTED
WINDSTONE REAGAN RESIDENCE, CALIFORNIA
PRESIDENTS, FIRST FAMILIES AND PEOPLE
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER AND FAMILY
SCORECARD DWIGHT D EISENHOWER
SPRINGTIME MAMIE EISENHOWER
SEMINOLE DAVID EISENHOWER
PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND HIS FAMILY
LANCER JOHN F. KENNEDY
LACE JACQUELINE KENNEDY
LYRIC CAROLINE KENNEDY
LARK JOHN F. KENNEDY JR
COPPERTONE ROSE KENNEDY
SUNDANCE ETHEL KENNEDY
SUNBURN TED KENNEDY
PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND HIS FAMILY
VOLUNTEER LYNDON JOHNSON
VICTORIA LADY BIRD JOHNSON
VELVET LYNDA BIRD JOHNSON
VENUS LUCI BAINES JOHNSON
PRESIDENT NIXON AND HIS FAMILY
SEARCHLIGHT RICHARD NIXON
STARLIGHT PAT NIXON
SUNBONNET JULIE NIXON EISENHOWER
SUGARFOOT PATRICIA NIXON COX
SAHARA EDWARD F COX
PRESIDENT FORD AND HIS FAMILY
PASS KEY GERALD FORD
PEN ROD GERALD FORD (Later)
PINAFORE BETTY FORD
PACMAN JACK FORD
PESO SUSAN FORD
PROFESSOR MICHAEL FORD
PRESIDENT CARTER AND HIS FAMILY
DASHER JIMMY CARTER
DEACON JIMMY CARTER
DANCER ROSALYNN CARTER
DECKHAND JEFF CARTER
DERBY JACK CARTER
DIAMOND CHIP CARTER
DIGGER JAMES CARTER IV
DUCHESS SARAH CARTER
DUSTY JASON CARTER
DYNAMO AMY CARTER
PRESIDENT REAGAN AND HIS FAMILY
RAWHIDE RONALD REAGAN
RAINBOW NANCY REAGAN
RADIANT DORIA REAGAN
RELIANT: RONALD P. REAGAN
RHYME MAUREEN REAGAN
RIBBON PATTI REAGAN DAVIS
RIDDLER MICHAEL REAGAN
ROSEBUD MAUREEN REAGAN
PRESIDENT GEORGE HW BUSH AND HIS FAMILY
TIMBERWOLF GEORGE H. W. BUSH
TRANQUILITY BARBARA BUSH
TUNER MARVIN BUSH
TUMBLER GEORGE W BUSH
TRAPLINE NEIL BUSH
TRIPPER JEB BUSH
PRESIDENT CLINTON AND HIS FAMILY
EAGLE BILL CLINTON
EVERGREEN HILLARY CLINTON
ENERGY CHELSEA CLINTON
PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH AND HIS FAMILY
TRAILBLAZER GEORGE W BUSH
TEMPO LAURA BUSH
TURQUOISE BARBARA BUSH
TWINKLE JENNA BUSH
PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS FAMILY
RENEGADE BARACK OBAMA
RENAISSANCE MICHELLE OBAMA
RADIANCE MALIA OBAMA
ROSEBUD SASHA OBAMA
PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS FAMILY
MOGUL DONALD TRUMP
MUSE MELANIA TRUMP
MOUNTAINEER DONALD TRUMP JR.
MARVEL IVANKA TRUMP
MARKSMAN ERIC TRUMP
PEOPLE
CABIN KENNEDY COMPOUND- HYANNIS PORT MA
CALICO ELEANOR MONDALE
CAMEO JOAN MONDALE
CANNONBALL REAR ADMIRAL J.A. CHANEY
CAVALIER WALTER MONDALE - CARTERS VP
CEDAR MENACHEM BEGIN
CENTURION THEODORE MONDALE
CHATEAU JFK HOME IN GLEN ORA VA
CHESSMAN WILLIAM MONDALE
CHRISTOPHER BEBE REBOZO
CLAM CHOWDER RON NESSEN
CLAW HAMMER ALEXANDER HAIG
CRYSTAL CHASSIAH BEGIN MILO
DAILY PRINCE CHARLES
DAGGER RUFUS YOUNGBLOOD - LBJ DETAIL
DANDY LEM JOHNS LBJ DETAIL
DOMINO JAMES ROWLEY CHIEF OF USSS
DRAGON WALTER MONDALE CARTER VP
DRUM MAJOR WALTER MONDALE (LATER CAVALIER)
FADEAWAY SECRETARY OF STATE
FAN JET JOHN BLOCK
FENCING MASTER SECRETARY OF TREASURY
FINLEY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
FIREPLUG SECRETARY OF LABOR
FIRE TRUCK JAMES EDWARD
FISTFIGHT SECRETARY OF HEW
FLAG DAY SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FLIVVER WILLIAM FRENCH SMITH
FLOTUS THE FIRST LADY
FLYING FISH SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
FOOTPRINT SENATOR STROM THURMOND
FOREFINGER JAN PIERCE
FORWARD LOOK NEIL BALDRIGGER
FOXCRAFT TERRELL BELL
FREEDOM DEAN RUSK SECY. OF STATE
HALO POPE JOHN PAUL II
HAWKEYE Z. BRZEZINSKI
HERCULES (#) COUNTER-SNIPER RESPONSE TEAM Mem
HOTSHOT DUTY OFFICER, WHCA
INSTRUCTOR EUGENE MCCARTHY
KITTYHAWK QUEEN ELIZABETH II
MIRACLE JOHN ANDERSON
NAPOLEON FRANK SINATRA
POTUS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
PRINCIPAL PRINCE CHARLES
RAMROD BOB DOLE
REDFERN QUEEN ELIZABETH II
REDWOOD GARY HART
SATCHEL PRESIDENTIAL COURIER/BAGMAN
SANDSTORM NELSON ROCKEFELLER FORD VP
SAWHORSE PRESIDENTIAL PHYSICIAN (LUCAS)
SCARLET KELE ANDERSON
SHOOTING STAR HAPPY ROCKEFELLER
SNAPSHOT HOWARD BAKER
SPECTATOR SPIRO T AGNEW NIXON VP
STAIRCASE FIRST FAMILY DETAIL OFFICER
STAR COL. GEORGE MCNALLY WHCA C.O.
STARBURST JOHN ANDERSON
STARDUST JOHN ANDERSON
STRAWBERRY ROSEMARY WOODS
SUNSHINE MARILYN QUAYLE
SUPERVISOR DAN QUAYLE BUSH (HW) VP
SWORDFISH PHILLIP CRANE
THUNDER JESSE JACKSON
UNICORN PRINCE CHARLES
VPOTUS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WATCHDOG DWIGHT CHAPIN
WAND KENNY O DONNELL
WAYSIDE PIERRE SALINGER PRESS SECTY
WELCOME R. HALDEMAN
WHALEBOAT RON ZIEGLER
WILLOW EVELYN LINCOLN KENNEDYS SECTY
WISDOM J. EHRLICHMAN
WOODCUTTER HENRY KISSINGER
The ship’s dining room and piano
Currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum, 
Originally painted red the Kennedys had the aircraft redesigned into the iconic blue it is today
HMX-1 Insignia
President Lyndon, Johnson seen here in the Presidential limo with wife Ladybird, never liked traveling in the car in which President Kennedy had been killed.
You can see photos of the Myers and (possibly) the accompanying Morn car as they are today here: http://www.abandonedfl.com/?p=2342
ReplyDeleteI believe it is 30th Street station in Philly, not 13th.
ReplyDeleteMy research of photo's from the JFK library can be found at http://www.jfklibrary.org/Search.aspx?nav=Nrc:id-5,N:16-4294959651-4294888720-4294908081
DeleteHi John, Thanks for posting the pictures. My father is in uniform in one of the pictures. He is wearing the pistol. His name was Ron.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of your Dad was taken in 1961, do you know what unit he was assigned to and where he was stationed. I would be very interested to know about his experiences. My involvement with the train began in 1966 while assigned to Camp David.
DeleteJohn, Sorry for the delay in responding. He was in the Army Signal Agency stationed in White House Communications. I know he served under McNally. He later took a position with the Secret Service,Communications Division. He traveled extensively with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. My father died in 1980. His name was Ronald Danielson.Thanks for filling some pictures for me. I am appreciative.
DeleteI knew and worked with your father. He was in charge of the radio shop on M street while I was at Camp David and Cannonball. We were both on the 1966 trip that LBJ took to Manila. This happened to be my first overseas trip and it was a pleasure working with him. Thanks for taking the time to post this information on my blog.
DeleteThank you, John, for responding. I have dad's travel documents and embassy passes from that trip to Manila (and others). I've enjoyed your website and blog. Great historical content. Regards, Mark Danielson.
ReplyDeleteMy dad ran the C&P Telephone Radio Shop in DC. I have a flag he left me that he said was on the Eisenhower funeral train and was signed and dated by Brig. General Shultz. I found a few pictures that look like it is the flag or at least of similar size mounted on the side of the funeral car. I understand he was asked by the Eisenhower Family to accompany them on that train trip. Is there any way to confirm any of this?
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ReplyDeleteFantastic read! This article not only enlightened me but also sparked a series of thoughts on the topic. The clarity and depth you bring to your posts are truly refreshing. It’s evident that a lot of thought and expertise has been woven into this piece. Looking forward to reading more on this subject and others on your blog. Keep the insightful content coming!
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