Civil Liberties

by Tyler Rogoway
Filed to: Pope
9/24/15 8:00pm

A pair of VH-3D “White Top” helicopters, referred to as Marine One while the President is on-board and used exclusively for White House executive airlifts, moved the Pope from JFK International to the Manhattan’s Wall Street heliport early this evening.

The Pope’s use of helicopters is nothing new, with the Vatican using specially outfitted VH-3s similar to Marine One for years before switching to the more modern Agusta Westland 139. These VVIP configured helicopters are painted white and operated by the Italian Government on behalf of the Vatican.

Yet with other options available, rarely does Marine helicopter squadron HMX-1 use its “White Top” VH-3D or VH-60N helicopters for any non-presidential airlift associated missions except for occasional high-level state visits. This appears to be one of them.

The use of what are the most meticulously maintained and most highly defended helicopters in the world comes as unprecedented security procedures have been put in place around Manhattan for the Pope’s visit.