See Air Force One's Transformation Over 70 Years

  • After the original Air Force One, a C-87A Liberator Express nicknamed Guess Where II, was deemed unsafe for presidential use, this Douglas C-54 Skymaster, nicknamed Sacred Cow was introduced for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. It was equipped with a radio telephone, sleeping area, and elevator for President Roosevelt's wheelchair.
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  • In 1947, Sacred Cow was replaced with Independence by President Truman, who named it after his hometown. The Douglas DC-6 Liftmaster's nose was painted as a bald eagle.
    Truman Presidential Library
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  • President Eisenhower added Columbine II, a Lockheed C-121 Super Constellation, to the Presidential fleet in 1953.
    William J. Smith—AP
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  • Columbine III, and two smaller Aero Commanders, joined Eisenhower's Presidential planes.
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  • Special Air Mission 26000, a Boeing 707, went into presidential service under the Kennedy administration. SAM 26000 stayed in service through Bill Clinton's administration until 1998.
    Wally Nelson—AP
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  • Although SAM 26000 remained in service throughout the 1990s, it was replaced as the primary executive aircraft by SAM 27000, the same model aircraft, in 1972. Pictured here is President Ronal Reagan on SAM 27000.
    TSGT Michael J. Haggerty—AP
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  • In 1990, SAM 28000, a Boeing 747 was introduced to the Presidential fleet.
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  • SAM 29000, also a Boeing 747, remains President Obama's primary transport aircraft.
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  • In January, 2015, it was announced that a Boeing 747-8 will take over as the newest member of the Presidential Fleet known as Air Force One.
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By Mark Thompson and TIME Photo

Huge gray warships used to be the primary way the United States showed its flag around the world. But there was only one problem with that: such flag-waving was limited to seaports, and the vessels’ bristling guns carried a decidedly military message.

In recent decades, the United States of America has waved its flag from the tail of Air Force One, the modified passenger plane that ferries the President and key pieces of his entourage around the globe. Its gleaming fuselage, with its white and light-blue livery, declares the American chief executive is in town, tending to the nation’s business.

Unlike warships, it can deliver the President to any city with a decent airport, at home or overseas, inland or otherwise. And its weapons—defensive in nature, consisting of electronic jammers, designed to thwart attacks, and flares fired from the plane to divert heat-seeking missiles—are hidden from public view.

Read next: Check Out the President’s New Airplane

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