⚠️This fact has been debunked
This is a persistent myth that has been debunked by multiple historians and fact-checkers. Photographs from December 8, 1941 clearly show FDR riding in a 1938 Cadillac presidential limousine (nicknamed 'Queen Mary' or 'Queen Elizabeth'), not Capone's 1928 Cadillac. The Secret Service never used Capone's car. Additionally, there's no evidence the Treasury Department even seized Capone's famous armored 1928 Cadillac - they confiscated V-16 Cadillacs but evidently overlooked the V-8.
Al Capone's armored limousine, after being seized by the feds, was later used to protect Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), 32nd President of the US, after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Did FDR Really Ride in Al Capone's Armored Car?
One of history's most repeated anecdotes claims that after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was rushed to Congress in a bulletproof limousine once owned by America's most notorious gangster, Al Capone. The story is dramatic, ironic, and perfectly captures the chaos of December 1941. There's just one problem: it never happened.
The Myth Takes Root
According to the legend, the Secret Service realized on December 7, 1941, that the White House fleet lacked an armored vehicle to safely transport the president during wartime. In a moment of desperate improvisation, an agent remembered that the Treasury Department had been storing Al Capone's seized 1928 Cadillac 341A Town Sedan—a 3,000-pound armored beast with inch-thick bulletproof glass, a police scanner, and hidden sirens.
The next day, as Roosevelt prepared to deliver his famous "Day of Infamy" speech to Congress, he supposedly rode in the gangster's car. The irony was delicious: the president who championed law and order, protected by the car of the man who embodied organized crime.
What the Evidence Shows
Photographs from December 8, 1941, tell a different story. They clearly show Roosevelt riding in a semi-armored 1938 Cadillac—one of two presidential limousines nicknamed "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth" that had been in the White House fleet for years. These cars weren't fully bulletproof, but they offered more protection than standard vehicles.
Historians and fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked this myth. The Secret Service never requisitioned Capone's car. The Chicago National Archives found no evidence that the Treasury Department even seized Capone's famous armored 1928 Cadillac during his tax evasion case. While federal officials did confiscate at least two V-16 Cadillacs from Capone, the legendary V-8 armored car was apparently overlooked.
Why the Story Persists
So why does this myth endure? It's been featured in History Channel documentaries, children's books, and countless articles. The story has everything: urgency, irony, and a perfect collision of two American legends.
- It captures the improvisation and chaos of Pearl Harbor's immediate aftermath
- It creates an unexpected connection between a president and a gangster
- It's memorable, quotable, and emotionally satisfying
The truth is more mundane. The Secret Service was already using semi-armored vehicles, and while Roosevelt's ride to Congress wasn't in a tank, it wasn't a complete security failure either.
The Real Capone Cadillac
Capone's actual 1928 armored Cadillac does exist—it sold at auction in 2012 for $341,000. But it never served its country, and it never carried a president. Instead, it stands as a testament to how good stories often trump boring facts, even when photographs prove otherwise.
The next time someone tells you about FDR riding in Capone's car, you can share the real history. Sometimes the truth is less poetic than the legend, but it's worth knowing which is which.