U.S presidential aircrafts - E-4, VC-25 and others

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Trying to wrap my brain around the diverse "Air Force One" and also the E- series (E-2, E-3 and the like)

- In 1972 Nixon went for another VC-137 (SAM-27000)
- at the same time the E-4A entered service
- 15 years later the President finally got a pair of 747, the VC-25

So why didn't Nixon went for a 747 in 1972 ? More exactly, Boeing replaced the "doomsday 707" with a "doomstay 747" yet the President remained stuck with a 707 ? Makes no sense.

As for the E series, started with AEW (E-1, E-2, E-3) and then went with something like "flying command center" - for fighters (E-3) ground troops (E-8) the nuclear triad (E-6, E-4) and a bunch of other missions ?
Wikipedia - United States tri-service EW aircraft designations post-1962 - so many different missions. Pretty weird.
 
Well, remember that SAM 27000 entered service in 1972. That's not when it was approved for service in the USAF. I would imagine that it was procured some time before that, at which point the 747 program was in its infancy. The Secret Service no doubt would have objected to a brand-new, untested plane being used as Air Force One. That's part of the reason why the VC-25A is a 747-200B, and not a 747-400.
 
Just came across some interesting footage (albeit, mistakenly entitled "Air Force One") on YouTube courtesy of the G. William Jones Film & Video Collection at the SMU Libraries, Southern Methodist University.

The footage, dated "August 29, 1973", is from a local news report by WFAA-TV (Ch. 8, Dallas, TX) and shows the very first Boeing E‑4A (USAF Serial 73‑1676, c/n 20682/202) in its original “green” 747‑200 configuration, filmed almost exactly as it appeared when delivered to E‑Systems in Greenville, Texas, for conversion.

This aircraft was the first of the type handed over to the U.S. Air Force and one of two 747‑200B airframes initially built for commercial airline service before being redirected to the USAF for E-4A conversion with interim National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) equipment. Unfortunately, reliable documentation remains elusive (at least to me) regarding which airline - or airlines - were originally slated to receive 73‑1676 (c/n 20682/202) and its sister ship 73‑1677 (c/n 20683/204).

We get a good look at the flight deck, including what appears to be the navigation station then-unique to the E-4 (compared to a standard 747-200B flight deck) at the 20-second mark. From the 1 min 53 sec mark to the end of the footage at 4 min 37 sec, there is plenty of B-roll footage of the then-bare interior of the aircraft. Note the spiral staircase, typical of -100/-200 models, that was retained (and still remains) after conversion to E-4A/B standard.

YouTube - SMU Jones Film: "Air Force One - August 1973" [sic]
 

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