Inside Air Force One.Minh K Tran/Shutterstock Known as the "nuclear football," every president since Eisenhower has been accompanied by the briefcase at all times. The safe also held military ...

Retired in 1996, SAM 970 now lives at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. I visited the museum in July to tour the old Air Force ...

I visited the museum in July to tour the old Air Force One and see how presidents once traveled. Take a look inside. Four US presidents flew aboard the Air Force One plane known as SAM 970.

In the event of nuclear war, the E-4B "Nightwatch" plane would serve as the US military's command and control center.