Douglas DC-4 variant
Douglas DC-4 VC-54C «Sacred Cow»
One-off presidential transport — the "Sacred Cow" — for Franklin D. Roosevelt: a C-54A fuselage with C-54B wings for maximum range.
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History
The Air Force was signed into being on board
The VC-54C was a hybrid built for presidential use: a C-54A fuselage with its four cabin tanks and C-54B wings with built-in tanks, a combination meant to squeeze out maximum range. It was delivered to Air Transport Command in June 1944 for Franklin D. Roosevelt and later used by Harry Truman. It is known colloquially as the "Sacred Cow".
Its historic moment came on 26 July 1947, when Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on board — the law that created the United States Air Force. It was officially retired in July 1961 and on 4 December that year transferred to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Museum; today it is preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.