Douglas DC-6 variant
Douglas DC-6 VC-118 «The Independence»
One-off presidential transport used by Harry S. Truman between 1947 and 1953, with a special 25-seat interior and 12 berths.
Image pending
- 1
- Units built
- 25
- Passengers
History
Truman's presidential aircraft
The VC-118 was a short-fuselage DC-6 bought by the Air Force as a presidential transport and fitted with a special interior of 25 seats and 12 berths. Harry S. Truman used it between 1947 and 1953: it was his first presidential aircraft and it carried a name of its own, "The Independence", after his home town in Missouri.
It is a one-off — a single airframe with that designation — and it survives: restored to its original configuration, it is preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.