Before Roosevelt, US foreign presidents traveled exclusively on ships.
On January 14, 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt flew to Morocco to attend the famous Allied Conference in Casablanca. It is historically interesting that this was the first flight of a US president by plane during his term. Prior to Franklin D. Roosevelt, US presidents used to travel exclusively by ship, using older means of transportation – rail, car, and earlier a carriage or horse. President Roosevelt’s trip to Casablanca has been a risky mission since it was 1943, in the midst of World War II. Therefore, the flight is not directed directly from the United States to Morocco, but is a secretly planned complex route. Namely, the president first arrived in Florida by land from Washington, then flew by plane to Trinidad Island in the Caribbean, and further to the Brazilian city of Belem. Only thence did he embark on a flight across the Atlantic Ocean to the Gambia in Africa and then to Casablanca. The aircraft that underwent most of that first presidential voyage was a Boeing 314 Clipper. It was actually a seaplane, and is also known for being flown by British Prime Minister Churchill. The famous name Air Force One for US Presidential aircraft has only been used since 1953.
