HMX-1 Insignia
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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| During his second term, Eisenhower used a Bell UH-13J Sioux to fly to the Presidential retreat at Camp David and to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania |
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.
Army H-34C of the Executive Flight Detachment and Marine HUS-1 of HMX-1
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s 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.
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.
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.
Because HMX-1 continues to function as an experimental Squadron as it did in 1947, many of the same pilots who fly the President also test and evaluate the latest Marine Corps helicopter systems and develop tactics and doctrine for their use.
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.
UH -1 N" Huey
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. 
CH-46E Sea Knight
CH-53D Sea Stallion
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.
A retired,
de-militarized, and restored VH-3D Marine One was officially inducted into the
George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, Texas on 12
June 2024. Bureau number 159358 (BUNO 358) served United States presidents
beginning with the Ford administration. The library and museum, located within
the Texas A&M University campus unveiled the VH-3D inside the new pavilion
that now houses the retired Marine One on what would have been President George
H. W. Bush's 100th birthday.
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| Retired Marine One Finds Permanent Home at Presidential Library and Museum |
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.
HMX-1 V-22 Osprey
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 has built 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 the fiscal year 2020
with production ending in fiscal year 2023. The first official flight of the
VH-92A® Patriot™ was on 08/19/24 when President Joe Biden was
transported from O'Hare International to Soldier Field in Chicago for the
Democratic Convention,
Program Status
The U.S. Marine Corps
currently operates 10 VH-3D and six VH-60N, and 23 VH-92A helicopters. All
models are military certified aircraft modified to perform the mission.
The VH-3Ds were placed in
service in 1974 and the VH-60s entered service in the 1980s. Both legacy
aircraft have exceeded their original twenty-year service life expectations due
to a comprehensive three-year overhaul cycle.
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.
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