<P> Concerned about relying upon commercial airlines to transport the president, USAAF leaders ordered the conversion of a military aircraft to accommodate the special needs of the Commander - in - Chief . The first dedicated aircraft proposed for presidential use was a C - 87A VIP transport aircraft . This aircraft, number 41 - 24159, was modified in 1943 for use as a presidential VIP transport, the Guess Where II, intended to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on international trips . Had it been accepted, it would have been the first aircraft to be used in presidential service, in effect the first Air Force One . However, after a review of the C - 87's highly controversial safety record in service, the Secret Service flatly refused to approve the Guess Where II for presidential carriage . As the C - 87 was a derivative of the Consolidated B - 24 Liberator bomber, it presented strong offensive impressions to enemy fighter aircraft as well as foreign destinations visited, an issue not present with airplanes that were used purely for transport . The Guess Where II was used to transport senior members of the Roosevelt administration on various trips . In March 1944, it transported Eleanor Roosevelt on a goodwill tour of several Latin American countries . The C - 87 was scrapped in 1945 . </P> <P> The Secret Service subsequently reconfigured a Douglas C - 54 Skymaster for presidential transport duty . The 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 before his death, on his trip to the Yalta Conference in February 1945 . </P> <P> After Roosevelt's death in April 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became president . The legislation that created the U.S. Air Force, the National Security Act of 1947, was signed by Truman while on board the VC - 54C . He replaced the VC - 54C in 1947 with a modified C - 118 Liftmaster, calling it the Independence (name of Truman's Missouri hometown). This was the first aircraft acting as Air Force One that had a distinctive exterior--a bald eagle head painted on its nose . </P> <P> The presidential call sign was established for security purposes during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower . The change stemmed from a 1953 incident where an Eastern Airlines commercial flight (8610) had the same call sign as the flight the president was on (Air Force 8610). The airliner accidentally entered the same airspace, and after the incident, the unique presidential aircraft call sign "Air Force One" was introduced . The first official flight of Air Force One was in 1959, during the Eisenhower administration . </P>

When was the first air force one built