Keywords: Independence aircraft.png Photograph of President Harry S Truman's airplane a Douglas VC-118 s/n 46-505 called The Independence on Wake Island on 15 October 1950 Truman went to Wake for a conference with General Douglas MacArthur whose plane is visible in the background <br>In 1947 USAAF officials ordered the 29th production DC-6 to be modified as a replacement for the aging Douglas VC-54C Skymaster Sacred Cow presidential aircraft It differed from the standard DC-6 configuration in that the aft fuselage was converted into a stateroom Also the main cabin seated 24 passengers or could be made up into 12 sleeper berths The VC-118 was formally commissioned by the USAAF on 4 July 1947 and was nicknamed Independence for Truman ™s hometown in Missouri USA The aircraft is today in display at the National Museum of the USAF Truman Library photograph http //www trumanlibrary org/photographs/view php id 547 rr 72-814 1950-10-15 U S Department of State PD-USGov Douglas VC-118 Independence Wake Island Conference |