VC-137C SAM 26000 - Operational History

Operational History

SAM 26000 entered service in 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration. It was built at Boeing's Renton, Washington plant at a cost of $8 million. Raymond Loewy, working with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, designed the blue and white color scheme featuring the presidential seal that is still used today. The plane served as the primary means of transportation for three presidents: Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon during his first term. In 1972, during the Nixon administration, the plane was replaced by another 707, SAM 27000, although SAM 26000 was kept as a back-up plane until 1998.

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