Originally Posted by
Warmtoast
So what was AirForce One in August 1959 when President Eisenhower came to the UK
Well the first USAF VIP 707 had been delivered just a few months previously. If it wasn't ready yet, not that the extended outfitting that takes place nowadays used to happen so much then, and given that jets had been around for a year or so, I would guess they could charter from Pan Am. But my bet would be the new aircraft, and the trip may have been timed around its availability. It would be embarrassing to go propeller then.
The predecessor aircraft were a pair of DC6 and L-749 Constellation, 46-0505 and 48-0610, delivered in 1947-8, and a replacement pair of DC6B and L-1049 Constellation, 53-3240 and 53-7885, delivered in 1954. All four lasted well into the jet era on backup duties. As a presidential visit commonly requires more than one aircraft overall, some of these likely came over at some stage as well.