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The President Gets a New Car
September 1961
Popular Science
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September 1961 Radio-Electronics  [Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged. |
Did you know the 1961 Lincoln Continental that President John F. Kennedy was shot while riding in had a transparent Plexiglas roof available? If it had been installed that fateful day in November of 1963, would the bullet have missed the president or maybe the shooter (Oswald, ostensibly, but questionable these days) would not have even tried for the shot. You might think the car would be referred to as Presidential Limo One or some code name similar to Air Force One (airplane), or Marine One (helicopter), but the best they could come up with was X-100. There was also an official presidential yacht (Sequoia) up until 1973. I highlight this feature from a 1961 issue of Popular Science magazine primarily because it mentions a pair of radiotelephones - one with a scrambler for super-secret communications. The car, by the way, was a rental ($500/year), and was actually owned by Ford Motor Company.
The President Gets a New Car
Top - Two-Piece Metal Top for formal polished black rear section, brushed front. Exterior and interior are navy blue that looks black at night. The trim is light blue.
Bottom - Plastic Top is transparent so President can be seen in parades but keep dry in rain. Third interchangeable roof is convertible fabric. They are stored in trunk when not in use.
Retractable Foot-Stands and recessed handholds in body (two on each side) are for Secret Service men. Two more built into rear bumper have grips that can be mounted on trunk.
The new Lincoln Continental delivered to President Kennedy this summer has so many pushbuttons that it takes a special panel on the dash for them all. The car took four years to design and build by Ford in cooperation with the Secret Service. It will be used for parades and other official purposes.
Two Radio Telephones keep President in touch with country's business. One has a scrambler for confidential calls. Above, Secret Service chief U. E. Baughman checks phone.
View of Interior shows rear seat wide enough for three adults. Control panel at left contains reading lamp, radio, and seat-elevator switches. Lap robes fold into recessed doors.
Elevator Rear Seat rises 10 1/2 inches on push-button power so President can see and be seen when crowds line streets. Footrest goes up with it. Jump seat is at normal height.
The car has three interchangeable tops: all metal, transparent plastic, and convertible. The latter two can be stored in the trunk when not in use.
An elevator back seat can be raised 10 1/2 inches by pushbutton so the President can be seen by crowds. The compartment can be closed off from the front seat by a pushbutton sliding panel and has a handrail the President can grasp while standing. It has two two-way radio telephones, one fitted with a scrambler. There are separate air conditioners and heaters in front and back. The car is an elongated 1961 Continental, 253.7 inches in length (41.3 inches longer than the standard) and has a 156-inch wheelbase (33 inches longer). It weighs 7,822 pounds.
Posted May 28, 2024
Copyright: 1996 - 2026 |
About RF Cafe RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived... |
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