Al Capone's Armored 1928 Cadillac was Used by President Roosevelt After the Pearl Harbor Attack

Gangster Had Several Cars, at Least Two Identical Armored Cars. Government Got One, the Other Sold Privately

This interesting and historic fact did not become publicly known till many years after World War II ended. And even at that it is one of those little sidebars of history most people are not aware of today. I came across it, quite by accident, while researching material for one of my World War II books.

On Monday morning, December 8, 1942, the day after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other U.S. military installations in Hawaii, nearly every radio in America was tuned in waiting to hear the news that President Roosevelt would address the Congress and ask they declare that we were at war with Japan.

According to former Secret Service Agent Mike Reilly, the Secret Service had determined the previous night, that a bulletproof car was needed immediately to protect President Roosevelt from possible assassins sympathetic to Japan or Germany.

But federal law prohibited purchasing any automobile that cost more than $750. An armored, bulletproof car would certainly cost more than that. Yet there was no time to wait for legislation authorizing such a vehicle, nor the time required to build one, and one was needed instantly. FDR would need it Monday morning.

However, Reilly, who was head of the 70-man White House detail, discovered that after Chicago gangster Al Capone, was convicted of income tax evasion in 1931 (he was sent to Alcatraz in August, 1934) the U.S. Treasury Department had seized the crime boss's bulletproof 1928 341A Cadillac Town Sedan. It had a whopping curb weight of 9,000 pounds.

Capone's Cadillac was green with black fenders, making it look identical to the 85 Cadillac's that were supplied to Chicago police and city officials. However, it had 3,000 pounds of bullet-proof armor beneath the standard body. Its windshield and windows were made of recently developed inch thick bullet proof glass. The car also had flashing red lights behind the grille and a real police siren. It is also believed to have been the first private car with a police band receiver.