Roma | |
---|---|
General information | |
Role | Training airship |
National origin | Italy |
Manufacturer | Stabilimento Construzioni Aeronautiche (SCA) |
Designer | |
Service | United States Army Air Service |
History | |
First flight | September 1920 (Italy) 15 November 1921 (USA) |
Last flight | 21 February 1922 |
Fate | Destroyed after crash and explosion |
Roma was an Italian-built semi-rigid airship, designated by its designer as the Model T-34. Purchased by the United States from the Italian government in 1921, Roma was operated for three months by the United States Army Air Service from November 15, 1921 to February 21, 1922, when it crashed in Norfolk, Virginia, killing 34 crewmen and passengers aboard, with 9 survivors. As a result of this accident, Roma was the last hydrogen inflated airship flown by the US military; all subsequent US Army and Navy airships were inflated with non-flammable helium.