Roma (airship)
| Roma | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | Airship |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
September 1920 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The keel airship Roma was built near Rome under the Italian airship designer Umberto Nobile in collaboration with Celestino Usuelli (1877–1926), Gaetano Arturo Crocco and Eugenio Prassone and was used in 1921 by the air forces of the US Army (then: US Army Air Service ) bought for $ 165,000.
The official construction designation was 18-M, but it was called T-34 internally during construction. The 34 stood for a buoyancy of about 34 tons.
Before delivery to the USA , various test drives had been carried out near Rome. The American Ambassador Robert Johnson Underwood was also on board for one. Then the ship was dismantled again and transported to America.
After the commissioning, the original Ansaldo engines were replaced by Liberty L12 engines . Allegedly the Italian engines were too unreliable. The first trip with the new engines was on February 21, 1922 from Langley Field, Virginia. 45 people were on board, including seven civil technicians. During the flight, the nose structure collapsed. It is unclear whether the increased engine output was the cause. The damage caused the elevator to fail . To control incapable lost the airship altitude and landed near the Norfolk -Armee-base on a high-voltage line . Upon contact with the cables ran the hydrogen - carrier gas in fire. Only eleven people survived the fire, some seriously injured.
This calamity led the American armed forces to abandon hydrogen. The airship ZR-1 USS Shenandoah was the first large airship to be filled with helium .
The Roma was originally supposed to be stationed in the new balloon and airship school on the Brooks Air Force airfield. However, it never reached its planned base. A 8500 m² airship hangar was built there especially for them .
An Ansaldo engine can still be seen today in the US Air Force Museum at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio / USA.
Technical data and performance
- Length: 125 m
- Diameter: 25 m
- Volume: 33,810 m³
- Empty weight: 34,500 kg
- Buoyancy force: 19,100 kg
- Drive: six Liberty twelve-cylinder V-engines with 300 kW each
- Maximum speed: 128 km / h
