The first dedicated aircraft proposed for presidential use was a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express VIP transport aircraft . This aircraft , tail number '' 41-24159 '' , was re-modified in 1943 for use as a presidential VIP transport , the '' Guess Where II '' , intended to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on international trips . The Secret Service subsequently reconfigured a Douglas C-54 Skymaster for duty as a presidential transport . This VC-54C aircraft , nicknamed the '' Sacred Cow '' , included a sleeping area , radio telephone , and retractable elevator to lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair . As modified , the VC-54C was used by President Roosevelt only once , on his trip to and from the Yalta Conference in February 1945
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
Air transports of heads of state and government