Presidential aircraft circa 1975

[gringo987]

Good day Gents, This is my first post, so I should explain that the reason I am here is because I’m researching a new novel (thriller) that I'm writing. Set in 1975, mostly in the Middle East.
Now, I know that Henry Kissinger made several trips to the Mideast, mostly multi stops, including Saudi, to see heads of state. So what type of plane would he have used? Would it have been one of the presidential aircraft? I know that if the president is aboard a craft it’s called Air Force One, and Two for the VP, so would the Sec of State use one of the same fleet and have his own call sign? For instance if he used one of the Boeing VC-137C’s I believe were used by the President, what would the call sign be for the Sec of State?
There are lots of different questions here and I’m ex-British army, not air force, so I apologise for being so vague, really I’m just looking for authentic info.
There will be further questions, but I’d better keep this introductory post short!

 

[gf0012-aust]

check the history of the 76th Airlift Division.

they were tasked with carrying the Executive

the USAF will have a PR Liaison Officer who may be able to advise you which units did Exec lifts prior to 1976

89th Airlift Wing did the Exec transporting within 76th AD

non pres lift aircraft carrying the Exec tend to be AirForce 2 (not consistent)

in the 70's there were 2 aircraft tasked with exec lift SAM26000 and SAM27000. both were boeing 707 deriv's.. 27000 replaced 26000.

SAM is a prefix for Special Air Mission

added:
nixon also flew commercial as an austerity measure at one point
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_One"]Executive One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
so one would assume that kissinger did the same

 

[pkcasimir]

Good day Gents, This is my first post, so I should explain that the reason I am here is because I’m researching a new novel (thriller) that I'm writing. Set in 1975, mostly in the Middle East.
Now, I know that Henry Kissinger made several trips to the Mideast, mostly multi stops, including Saudi, to see heads of state. So what type of plane would he have used? Would it have been one of the presidential aircraft? I know that if the president is aboard a craft it’s called Air Force One, and Two for the VP, so would the Sec of State use one of the same fleet and have his own call sign? For instance if he used one of the Boeing VC-137C’s I believe were used by the President, what would the call sign be for the Sec of State?
There are lots of different questions here and I’m ex-British army, not air force, so I apologise for being so vague, really I’m just looking for authentic info.
There will be further questions, but I’d better keep this introductory post short!

Kissinger would have flown on one of the VC-137A's assigned to the 89th MAW at Andrews. These planes, not to be confused with the VC-137Cs which were specially procured and built to transport the President, were modified Boeing 707s. The VC-137As were re-engined and designated VC-137Bs sometime in the 70's but I don't recall exactly when.
Unless the President specifically requested that Kissinger use one of "his" VC-137Cs (highly unlikely), he would have been assigned one of the 89th's VC-137As.
There is no special call sign for the Secretary of State or any other cabinet member. Any Kissinger flight would have been designated a SAM (Special Airlift Mission) and would have been given a call sign with the prefix SAM; e.g. SAM1000.

 

[gf0012-aust]

There is no special call sign for the Secretary of State or any other cabinet member. Any Kissinger flight would have been designated a SAM (Special Airlift Mission) and would have been given a call sign with the prefix SAM; e.g. SAM1000.

there has been an exception to that in recent times.

Hilary did have her ME aircraft called "Air Force Three". She was at one stage getting driven around in a specially kitted out plane not normally assigned to the PAG

Point of Contact
89th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, 1419 Menoher Drive, Suite 108, Joint Base Andrews, MD 20762; Comercial: 301-981-6013; DSN: 858-6013; Fax: 301-981-5921.

[email protected]

 

[gf0012-aust]

89th Aircraft list from Wiki:

Aircraft list
C-47 Skytrain (1942–1944)
C-45 Expeditor (1949–1950, 1955–1957)
C-46 Commando (1949–1952, 1956–1957)
T-6 Texan (1949–1950)
T-7 (1949–1954)
T-11 (1949–1952)
P-51 Mustang (1952–1954)
T-28 Trojan (1953–1956)
T-33 Shooting Star (1953–1957)
P-80 Shooting Star (1953–1957)
TC-47 (1955–1957)
F-86 Sabre (1957)
C-119 Flying Boxcar (1957)
C-118 Liftmaster (1966–1972)
VC-118 The Independence (1966–1974)
C-121 Constellation (1966–1968)
VC-121 (1966)
C-131 Samaritan (1966)
VC-131 (1966–1979)
C-135 Stratolifter (1966–1968, 1975–1992)
VC-137 Stratoliner (1966–2001)
C-140 (1966–1972)
VC-140 (1966–1987)
VC-6 (1966–1985)
U-4 (1966–1969)
VC-135 (1968–1992)
VC-9 (1977–2009)
T-39 Sabreliner (1975–1978)
UH-1 Iroquois (1976–2006)
CH-3 Jolly Green Giant (1976–1988)
C-12 Huron (1976–1993)
C-20 (1983–present)
VC-25 (1990–present)
C-21 (1993–1997)
C-32 (1998–present)
C-37 (1998–present)
C-40 Clipper (2002–present)

The above list is inaccurate as far as present aircraft are concerned - so I'm not so sure how trustworthy it is from a historical perspective

 

[gringo987]

Help and advice much appreciated

Thank you both for your detailed replies, believe me, it is much appreciated....
Gringo

 

[gf0012-aust]

Thank you both for your detailed replies, believe me, it is much appreciated....
Gringo

No probs, although I would get in contact with the LO from the 89th

At one stage I was also going to write a book on carrier warfare - the USN LO I dealt with ended up sending me a whole pile of black and white photos (relevant to the period I was going to write on)

they went out of their way to assist and only wanted acknowledgement/credit within the book if any imagery was used.

 

[gringo987]

Excellent suggestion!

No probs, although I would get in contact with the LO from the 89th

At one stage I was also going to write a book on carrier warfare - the USN LO I dealt with ended up sending me a whole pile of black and white photos (relevant to the period I was going to write on)

they went out of their way to assist and only wanted acknowledgement/credit within the book if any imagery was used.

Thanks! I intend dropping them a line today via email, it's good to know they have such a positive attitude, I'll let you know what happens!
Gringo