THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS - Sep. 26, 1920
Due to the poor quality of this article, some of the contents are summarized here.

Eleven balloons were launched Saturday evening between 5 pm and 6 pm, sailing smoothly in a wind that carried them west-northwest on their voyage in the national elimination balloon race. It is estimated that 20,000 people witnessed the start of the race. The huge crowds swarmed to the field to see Warren Rasor, veteran aeronaut of Brookfield, Ohio, and his aide take to the air at 4:54 pm.  

Three minutes later, Army Balloon No. 4 with pilot Lt. E.W. McEntire and Capt. Dale Mabry was loosed by the soldiers and civilians holding it, and it trailed off in the wake of the Ohioan's "gas bag."  

At 5 pm, Army Balloon No. 2, piloted by Lt. Byron T. Burt, with Lt. R.E. Olmstead as aide, was the third to launch.  Army Balloon Army Balloon No. 1 launched next, piloted by Lt. Richard E. Thompson and Lt. Harold E. Weeks as his aide.

Next to launch was the "Elsie Delight" with pilot A. Leo Stevens, the pilot who earlier tried to reach an altitude of 4 miles in an effort to signal MARS, with aide Western.  Theirs was the only entry to be equipped with a huge parachute, which trailed behind the basket.

The 6th balloon to launch was Ralph Upson, holder of the international title, in  his Akron, Ohio Goodyear balloon, with aide Van Ormand.  The 7th balloon was pilot J.S. McKibbon and aide Seiberling.  Five minutes later, two youths, pilot Bernard von Hoffman and aide Heller,  launched in a balloon bearing the colors of the University of Missouri.  They headed straight for another balloon and had to release a huge quantity of sand that liberally sprinkle the spectators below.  With a shouted apology, they waved goodbye as they shot into the air.  Next to launch was the 9th, a balloon named "The Kansas City II" piloted by Homer E. Honeywell and his aide, Dr. Jerome Kingsberry.  The 10th balloon to launch was R.F. Donaldson and his aide J.R. King.  They loosed a string of tiny American flags that trailed away from the passenger basket. At 5:46 pm, the 11th and final entry to launch was the big silver balloon of the U.S. Navy, piloted by Lt. Rasfe Emerson and aide Lt. Frank Sloman.  One entry did not launch successfully.  Pilot William Asmann and his aide Capt. J.M. O'Rielly, whose balloon burst its net shortly before their starting time arrived, forced them to drop out.
 

See the map.  Color, as well as the landing place of the Navy balloon,  has been added by TampaPix,
 

The Kansas City II" piloted by Homer E. Honeywell of St. Louis, apparently was leading in the race.  It was the only balloon still flying from which reports had been received in Birmingham.  At 7 am, Monday, it had passed over Toledo, Ohio and soon was skirting Lake Erie headed east.

Army balloon No. 1, the Ft. Omaha entry piloted by piloted by Lt. Richard E. Thompson, was believed to be still in the air on Monday morning due to no reports of them landing. A Sep. 28th article reported a storm raised them to 30,000 feet before they landed on Sep. 27 at 9:14 am in a field near Lake Erie, two miles east of Ridgetown, Ontario--a distance of 900 miles from Birmingham.

The "Elsie Delight" piloted by A. Leo Stevens, was forced to land at Drakesboro, Ky. on Sunday morning, according to a telegram received from Cincinnati where Stevens and his aide arrived on Monday.

Army balloon No. 2 piloted by Lt. Burt landed 6 miles east of Hanson, Ky at 2:30 pm  Sunday.  Their landing was forced when the balloon lost gas.

The first balloon reported down was the one piloted by Warren Rasor.  It landed near Grayville, Ind. 30 miles north of Evansville at 4:30 pm Sunday. But other balloons came down earlier according to later reports. 

The balloon representing the Missouri State University, piloted by Bernard von Hoffman, landed 8 miles west of Caneyville, Ky. on Sunday.

F.R. Donaldson in the Missouri Aeronautical Society's entry, landed near Owensboro, Ky late Sunday afternoon. He was at an altitude of 5,500 ft. when the balloon began "reaking heavily, and was forced to release 35 fifty-pound bags of ballast to reach the earth safely."
 

Army balloon No.4 piloted by Lt. McEntire with aide Capt. Dale Mabry, landed near Lewisport, Ky at 10:08 pm Sunday. The Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company's by-product plant at North Birmingham received a telegram Monday from McEntire and Mabry:  "Foot slipped; landed at Lewisport Ky., U.S. Army No. 4"

Ralph Upson, world's champion balloon pilot in the Goodyear entry, landed Monday morning near Elyria, Ohio, on his own choice rather than risk a crossing at Lake Erie.  His balloon passed four miles north of Hagerstown, Ind at 12:15 am Monday

The balloon piloted by J.S. McKibbon landed 3 miles northeast of Vanwert, Ohio, at 2:16 am Monday.  It had travelled for 32 hours, 46 min. and had traveled mor than 500 miles.

The last balloon reported down was the U.S. Navy entry, the Goodyear II,  piloted by Lt. Raafe Emerson.  A telegram received from him from Graytown, Ohio, state that their balloon was forced to land at Port Clinton, Ohio at 6:50 am Monday due to an approaching storm blowing easterly over Lake Erie.  Read the rest of the article at right.

Three winners, determined by distance traveled, would be chosen to represent the U.S. in the international race to start in Birmingham on Oct. 23.

QUALIFIERS FOR INTERNATIONAL RACE

Not counted as part of the three qualifiers, by virtue of being the current international champion, Ralph Upson, who landed near Elyria, Ohio, along with his aide von Ormann, was an automatic qualifier for the upcoming international race in Birmingham.

The first place contestant to qualify was Lt. Thompson with his aide, Lt. Weeks, in the Army No. 1 balloon, who landed at Richmond, Ontario, about 40 miles southwest of Ottawa.

The second place qualifying contestant was the Navy balloon, with Lt. Emerson and aide Lt. Sloman, who landed basketless on the shores of Lake Erie near Elyria, Ohio.

The third place and final contestant to qualify was H.E. Honeywell, the civilian pilot of Kansas City, and his aide Dr. Kingsbury of NY, landing near Chatham, Ontario, about 40 miles northeast of Detroit.

But there would be a question of validity of the Navy qualification due to their basket being cut off before coming down. Why it was cut away could determine whether or not it was a violation.

INTERNATIONAL BALLOON RACE ENTRIES

On Oct. 7, 1920, there  were 7 entries in the International race..  But the next day, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce announced that the city of Birmingham was going to have an "independent entry" as well as allowing Lt. Raafe Emerson, who was eliminated in the preliminary race, would be another independent entry in an effort to break the American endurance record.  Apparently, this wasn't allowed.

THE FINAL STANDINGS
Articles vary in regard to the spelling of the foreign balloon occupants' and their balloons. The Trionfale V spelling was obtained from the photo of it.  Absence of the Navy entry is an indication that the cutting loose of their basket in the qualifier race was a violation.

Aviation Historian magazine

information concerning the Roma's capabilities, engine horsepower and top speed vary among sources, including historical accounts and news articles.

There is also conflicting information in historical accounts regarding the original reason the Italians built the Roma, even among news articles of the period.  Some say it was built by the Italian government for use in WW1, but was not completed in time.  Some say it was built for transportation purposes across the Atlantic, but soon determined to be too risky.  Some say it was built for the U.S. Navy who then turned it over to the U.S. Army Air Service, and some say it was built for the U.S. Army. 

There is also a range of dates among sources for the U.S. purchase of the Roma.  Late Dec. 1920 news articles showing a photo of King Vittorio Emanuele on board the Roma claim the U.S. had just purchased it. Then Feb. 1921 articles says the War Dept. announced on Feb. 2 that the Roma has been purchased by the U.S. Army.  Some authors who have written books on the history of the Roma say it was purchased after the U.S. Ambassador took the first test flight from Compagna, Italy in mid-March 1921.

Before the Roma was bought by the U.S, government, this flight with King Vittorio Emanuele III took place on Sep. 20, 1920.

Regardless of the purpose of its construction by the Italians, the Roma was sold to the U.S. Government in late Dec. 1920.

PURCHASE OF THE ROMA
 

At the urging of Army Brigadier General William Mitchell, the Army authorized the purchase of the Roma in Mar. 1921** for $194k. 

It was the understanding of Maj. John H. Jouett, commander at Brooks Field, Texas, that the Roma would eventually be sent there for use in training, as soon as a larger hangar could be completed.  Officers there believed that the Roma would be filled with helium, to minimize dirigible accidents. A large helium plant was located in the oil fields of North Texas near Ft. Worth.

**According to Wings of Valor, Wings of Gold  by Amy W. Yarinske, 1998.

An article In Aerial Age Weekly of Feb. 14, 1921 states "Italy's giant airship Roma described in detail in Aerial Age recently, is to be purchased by the War Dept.  The cost to the American Government is 4M lire."

The Italian's test flight of late December, 1920

DALE MABRY PASSPORT APPLICATION
 

On Jan. 29, 1921, Dale applied for a passport to travel to Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland for military service. He intended to travel from the Port of New York on a U.S. transport on Feb. 5th, 1921.  This trip would be for the purpose of bringing the Italian airship Roma back to the U.S.  See the entire document.

  DALE MABRY AND THE ROMA

DALE MABRY IN BELGIUM AND ITALY

On Feb. 4, 1921, The Tampa Tribune announced that Dale would sail from New York to Italy on the 5th along with Lt. Robert Reid and 5 non-commissioned officers.  According to the 2-page roster of officers at Langley Field, there was no Robert Reid, nor any Reid.  It was 1st. Lt. WALTER J. REED who was among those accompanying Dale.  (They were actually headed for Antwerp, Belgium.)

The Langley Field roster of officers shows Captain Dale Mabry and Lt. Walter J Reed on Detached Service at at Antwerp, Belgium since Feb. 1.

From all early indications, the Army planned to disassemble the Roma and send it to the USA by ship to Langley, then have it reassembled in a hangar there.

Detailed to Go to Italy “Roma For the purpose of bringing back the giant airship “Roma,” recently purchased by the United States from the Italian Government, the following officers and men from the U. S. Army Air Service have been detailed to go to Italy:

Maj. John G. Thornell, Capt. Dale Mabry, 1st Lt. Walter J. Reed, Master Sgts. Roger C. McNally and Harry A Chapman, Staff Sgt. Marion J. Beall, Sgt. Joseph M. Bledenbach, and Corp. Virgil C. Hoffman.

DALE MABRY IN ITALY

Hundreds of newspapers across the country published this photo and the incorrect title claiming the men would be flying the ship back to the U.S.

The Army entourage arrived in Antwerp, Belgium, on Feb. 26, 1921 and proceeded to Rome to take charge of the Roma.

FIRST TEST FLIGHT WITH U.S. AMBASSADOR - MAR. 3, 1921
 

U.S. Ambassador to Italy, Robert Underwood Johnson, arrived at Roma's hangar in Campagna on Mar. 3, 1921.  As he arrived, the ground crew of 100 soldiers and workmen had already guided the Roma from its berth and held fast to the ropes holding her down.

Robert U. Johnson was an American poet, editor and diplomat.  He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy from April 1920 to July 1921 and represented the United States as an observer at the San Remo conference of the Supreme Council of the League. The Italian government decorated him in recognition of his work to promote good relations between Italy and the United States.

The Roma launched at 9 a.m. As some passenger seated themselves, Johnson moved about the ship with a crewman.  The frame of the Roma was aluminum, the envelope of rubberized cotton, and silk was used throughout certain points. The view of Rome was spectacular to the ambassador, who later described seeing St. Peter's in the distance and "the whole of the Eternal City in one comprehensive glance"  and "the Piazza, which seemed to occupy a third of Rome."  Johnson's only complaint on his first Roma voyage seemed to be the noise of the engines "which pained the ear."

JOHNSON IMPRESSED

Johnson was enamored with his hour-and-a-half flight over Rome and Lake Albano, and as a result, he recommended to the Secretary of War that the U.S. Army retain the name "Roma" in honor of its designer, Usuelli, its builder Umberto Nobile, and the airship's craftsmen.  Upon hearing this, Nobile announced on Apr. 23, 1921, ...This constitutes the highest honor of the most ambitious satisfaction that the Italian technicians could have expected as the crowning of their work.. 

SECOND FLIGHT OF THE ROMA WITH AMERICANS - MAR. 15, 1921

Johnson then awaited the arrival of American experts sent to make a trial run prior to painstakingly dismantling and shipping it to Langley Field.  His second flight on the Roma was on Mar. 15, 1921, this time in the company of eight Army Air Servicemen (the same crewmen who would be on the Roma less than a year later on her fateful flight.)

FLIGHT WITH AMERICAN EXPERTS,  MARCH 15, 1921

The flight from Campagna to Naples and back was to enable the Americans, commanded by Maj. John Thornell, a veteran lighter-than-air flyer, Capt. Dale Mabry and 1st. Lt. Walter Reed to become familiar with the workings of the Roma.   On the flight with them were the Italian instructors, along with Prince Viggo of Denmark (4th son of King Christian) and the prince's aide, Signor Cortesi of the Associated Press, the Roma's designer Signor Usuelli, the Roma's builder Umberto Nobile, General A. di Siebert (the head of the Italian Aviation Force,) Kenneth Roberts of the Saturday Evening Post, and Signor Zezi, an expert on the subject of parachute jumping,  

As they passed over Rome, Johnson sent a wireless message to the Secretary of War: "American Embassy Rome. For Sec. Weeks, Washington, by wireless from airship Roma above Naples.  Successful trip carrying American flag for the first time. American aviation officers and military and Naval attaches and American guests send greetings and congratulations.  Robert Underwood Johnson, Ambassador."    Thornell, Mabry and Reed accepted the Roma for the USA after this flight.

The Roma was fast for its time, able to do 40 mph on six Ansaldo-San Giorgio engines turning nearly 2,500 combined HP.  During this first flight, Johnson remarked that "an interesting feature, and almost the only dangerous one, was the operation of two men in one of the six projecting motors, who at full speed, transferred the propeller from one motor to another to show it could be done...Only four of the motors were in operation or we could have had greater speed.  We went at an altitude of from 700 to 850 feet so that we had no difficulty in making out details below us."

BELOW: Mar. 15, 1921 - "Happy landings after the Italian flight."  Lt. Walter J. Reed, Maj. John G. Thornell, Maj. Chaney (Air attaché in Italy), Maria Reed, Marie Thornell, and Capt. Dale Mabry.  Sgt. Biedenbach is seen at distance in profile to the right of Capt. Mabry.  Place your cursor on the photo to see the VIPs identified larger.  Images and description courtesy of the The Hampton History Museum on Facebook.

THE VOYAGE TO LANGLEY, VA.

For Roma’s transfer to the USA, the American officers initially considered making a direct transatlantic crossing.  But the possibility of summer storms or even hurricanes on the Atlantic voyage was too high to risk so they kept the decision to dismantle the airship and transport it by sea to the Port of New York.  The semi-rigid airship Roma was dismantled and shipped from Genoa, Italy on the naval transport Mars on May 28, 1921.

A little over a month after Roma left Italy, assembly of the dirigible commenced at Langley, Virginia, arriving by rail on the last leg of its journey on Aug. 5, 1921  A large hangar had been built, along with laboratories established for generating hydrogen.

An inspection of the Roma at Langley found the covering of the airship had been weakened by mildew during its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. BELOW:  Inspection and repair of Roma's gas compartment #1. Normally filled with hydrogen, the Roma's gas bag was filled with air to allow workmen to repair any leaks.
Info and photo courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

BELOW:  The Roma anchored to the floor in the hangar at Langley Field, with steel** framing for the keel visible. The framework for the nose cap can be seen at lower left.

**Other sources say it was made of aluminum, which is much lighter than steel.

With the outer skin of the keel not yet in place during re-assembly, the passenger cabin is seen  here.  The steel struts arranged in a V-shape comprised the skeleton of the keel, which ran the length of the ship. It also served as an rigid support for each of the 6 engines and the tail assembly.

The Roma was delivered to Langley with 400 H.P. Ansaldo San Giorgio engines, seen here after removal from the Roma.

One of the Roma's Ansaldo San Giorgio engines on a test block.
Courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Engineers in the airship shed at Langley in the late summer of 1921 are dwarfed by Roma's giant multi-plane box-kite tail assembly.   The tail unit consisted of three superimposed horizontal stabilizers with hinging elevators at each end, plus eight vertical stabilizers with rudders mounted on the rear.

Front row, L to R: Lt. Walter Jay Reed, Maj. John G. Thornell, Capt. Dale Mabry.

This photo was formerly on MacDill Air Force Base's website but the page containing it was removed.  However, the image itself is still online as described at Welweb.org.  It is undated but the condition of the Roma's (lack of a) keel indicates it was around the time the photo above it was taken, probably in the late spring of 1921.
 

The Roma's reassembly was completed at Langley by Nov, 5, 1921, and on the morning of Nov. 15th more than 1,000 spectators arrived at the field to see its rollout for its first flight in American air space. At the controls was Major John Thornell; the silver dirigible, on the prow of which was painted the word “ROMA” and a white five-pointed star, majestically emerged from the hangar, pumped full of 1.17M cubic feet of highly flammable hydrogen. 

BELOW:  Roma emerges from her hangar at Langley Field for her first flight since reassembly.  The Hampton History Museum on Facebook.

At 1030 hrs, after almost an hour of pre-flight preparations, the airship began to lift slowly into the air, although problems quickly developed with the Ansaldo San Giorgio engines, which failed to deliver their full power. Despite this problem, the flight was continued with no further issues until 1130 hrs, when a leakage of hydrogen was detected. The technicians on board managed to repair the leak, and at 1300 hrs the dirigible commenced the docking operation, concluding successfully after half an hour. 

There are conflicting accounts of this flight as to when the hydrogen leak occurred. An article in the Boston Globe of Nov. 16, 1921, says it received a special dispatch from Norfolk that upon attempting to land, the Roma struck a tree stump and a small hole was torn in the bag and two members of the crew were overcome by gas fumes.**  "They were picked up unconscious and rushed to the Army Post Hospital at Langley" where the men recovered. 

Many newspapers around the country mentioned the "gassing" of two crew members overcome by fumes. Some say it was exhaust fumes from the engines as the Roma was being maneuvered into its hangar, some say it hit a tree stump while landing and gas escaped from a hole torn in the covering.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE.

**It is unlikely that the Roma would have its engines running while being put it her hangar.   Also, the Roma was constructed with ballonets--internal balloons to control the attitude of ship. In a letter dated Feb. 1, 1922, Dale Mabry emphasized to the commandant of the Airship School the necessity of replacing the external envelope and ballonets. A small hole in the external envelope wouldn't be a big problem if the hydrogen was contained in inner ballonets but a  puncture of a hydrogen ballonet would be no trivial matter.  The  were contained in the keel and filled with air for adjusting attitude and buoyancy.

Ballonet - Any of several small balloons, inside a dirigible, that can be inflated or deflated to control buoyancy during flight.

The Roma on launch day, Feb. 21, 1922
Wings of Valor, Wings of Gold

 

BELOW Rescue workers look on as a crane removes the twisted metal of the destroyed Roma at the US Army Quartermaster’s Depot in Norfolk after its crash on February 21, 1922.  The metal framing of the box-kite tail and supporting keel came to rest on telephone poles, electrical wires and railroad tracks.

Tampa Tribune - Feb. 22, 1922

Click an area to read the entire article larger.CAUTION: Graphic descriptions of victims

Notice in the article "Mabry was at wheel.." that there was an "observer's pit on top of the bag" and the occupant Albert Sloras said "...I tried to go back down inside but decided to come out forward again..."  It would not have been possible for him to go inside the gas bag if the hydrogen supported the entire bag. Access to an observation pit is only possible if the lifting gas is contained in inner ballonets (gas cells) anchored to internal framework. UNLESS the observation pit was in the forward part of the keel, but that would not be "on top."  Photos of the Roma that show the top of the airship do NOT show any type of observation pit or platform.

Notice also engineer Lt. Joseph Biedenbach stated "I didn't see any fire..." surely referring to while in the air.  "It took about 20 seconds for us to hit the ground and an EXPLOSION FOLLOWED."  Then backtracks and says he was pinned and waited for the fabric to burn through so he could get out, "..All the time I was afraid that the BIG GAS ENVELOPE behind us would explode.  As it happened the fire reached the fabric BEFORE THE EXPLOSION."  This is a clue that the initial fire was due to GASOLINE fumes igniting from the Roma's engine gasoline tanks before the hydrogen exploded.   See this diagram of the dirigible "Shenandoah" from Airships.net.
 

Incredibly, 11 of the 45 men aboard survived.   Lt. Reed survived the disaster by leaping from the airship at the last possible moment.  Mabry and Thornell didn't make it.  Mabry was incinerated at the helm still gripping the controls.  Lt. William Riley jumped too soon and according to the Newport News Daily Press, "he drove his knee bones through his skin and dashed his brains out against the pavement."  Master Sgt. Harry Chapman used his knife to cut a hole in the flaming gas bag but courageously did not escape the inferno until he had helped eight other crewmen out of his emergency exit.

. Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute by United States Naval Institute Jan. - Jun. 1922   The Roma Christened The 400-foot army airship Roma fought her way for five hours and a half against a head wind from Langley Field to Washington December 21 to be named and put in commission officially by Miss Fenrose Wainwright, daughter of the Assistant Secretary of War, who broke a bottle of liquid air on the prow of the dirigible.   Secretary Weeks, Secretary Denby and Senator Rolandi-Ricci, the Italian Ambassador, who participated in the ceremonies, waited for three hours in the chilling wind which blew from the northwest, for the ship to arrive. They were to have taken a flight in her over the city and to Baltimore with other invited guests, but the wind was rising steadily, and Major General Patrick, Chief of the Army Air Service, ordered the Roma back to her hangar at Langley Field as soon as she could be refueled.   The great dolphin-like craft arrived at Boiling Field at noon and departed at 2:30, scurrying home with the wind behind her, in two hours and forty minutes. A crowd of guests and officers of the two air services awaited the arrival of the army's new semi-rigid, the largest lighter-than-air ship in this country, at Boiling Field from 9 o'clock, impatiently stamping their feet and trudging back and forth in an effort to keep warm. Aeroplanes left the field from time to time to search out the great ship, which was continually reported by radio as approaching from the southeast, but did not appear. Finally she was reported as over Alexandria, making slow progress against a stiff wind, with three of her motors frozen. Suddenly in the southwest there appeared a great, dull-gray shape, scarcely distinguishable against the slate-colored sky. It was the Roma — a massive, fat dirigible, moving a little toward the east, slowly and majestically lifting her nose over the encircling hills. Gradually her bulk loomed up, and she swung toward the west, heading directly for the field, With her motors roaring deafeningly. Approaching quite low, she seemed barely to miss the trees and hangars as she pushed against the wind and finally, reaching the center of the field, put her nose down and slowly settled. A door in the V-shaped keel, near the bow flew open and a great coil of rope dropped to the "handling" crew below. All hands took hold and slowly the great craft came to earth. The wind, sweeping from the north and west, swung the great ship back and forth as the men strained at the rope, while stay wires with cables attached were dropped out of ports along the keel to other men who stood by to steady her. Leveling off, but under the blast of her propellers, she settled on her "bumpers" and was landed, but she never stayed still a minute, swaying back and forth and carrying the men clinging to the ropes with her; Then followed the naming by Miss Wainwright, who stood on a stepladder under the great curving bows as she broke the bottle of liquid air, which flew into a bluish-gray cloud of vapor as the glass crashed. Speaking for Italy, Ambassador Rolandi-Ricca expressed his pleasure that America should have bought her.  Secretary Weeks, in accepting the airship for the War Department, said that the pleasure and opportunity were rather his, that the army should be so fortunate in securing a ship developed by the skill of Italian craftsmen. Major J. G. Thornell and his staff of pilots and navigators were also thanked personally by Secretary Weeks for their successful trip, despite their handicap of an adverse wind and disabled motors. After the naming, the color presentation took place, Assistant Secretary Wainwright replying to Lieut. Gen. Giuseppe Vaccari, who spoke feelingly of the cordial relations between Italy and America as he presented the new American ensign for the Roma. The old ensign (FLAG) was then replaced by a new one presented by the Italians and hoisted high on the stern over her curious box-like rudder. General Patrick then ordered the field cleared and the ship gassed and rebalanced for homeward flight. As the motors were tuned up the handling crew eased up on the hauling cable and the big ship rose slowly on an even keel. As soon as she was clear of the field the "let go" signal was given and the cables were hauled up. She slowly forged ahead into the wind, turned to the southeast as she reached the edge of the field. At a height of a few hundred feet the engines were speeded up, and, assisted by the wind, she began her homeward trip at a high rate of speed, disappearing over the hills to the south. — Aerial Age Weekly, 2 January, 1922   Thirty-four Killed in Crash of the Roma. Thirty-four officers, enlisted men and civilians were killed on February 21 when the Army dirigible airship Roma plunged a thousand feet and crashed to earth in flames near the Hampton Roads army base. Only eleven of the forty-five men aloft with her were saved, and some of them were terribly hurt. Three were slightly injured.   The breaking of, the rudder with its vertical controls, affixed in box-kite fashion to the stern, is believed the original cause of the disaster. Just as the craft plummeted into the earth the metal-clad nose struck high-tension electric power wires, and the dirigible was fired from stem to stern. Only those whose fortunate positions in the car enabled them to leap before the flames ran with lightning speed through the gas bag, had the faintest chance for their lives. The thirty-three who couldn't jump died, One officer broke his neck in a dive to earth and was dead before he could be got to a hospital.   The Roma's gas bag, with its cubical capacity of 1,100,000 cubic feet, was filled with hydrogen. Non-flammable helium was the levitating gas used when the Roma, which was bought from the Italian Government, went on her first trial flight last December.** But it had been planned to send the ship — the largest semi-rigid airship in the world — on a spring cruise over the country to demonstrate her fitness to cross the Atlantic. In her bag had been the whole available supply of helium in the United States. Flying officials wanted that for the spring journey, so they pumped it into tanks and substituted hydrogen.   **Roma's first trial flight was in NOVEMBER.  In December, she flew to Washington DC for her christening. So she may have been filled with helium for the Dec. 21 christening or as early as Nov. for her first test flight.   Trip to Test Liberty Motors The occasion for the fatal flight was a desire to test the Liberty Motors which had been installed to replace the Italian motors. In charge of Captain Dale Mabry, with a full complement of officers and men and a few civilian guests, the huge craft went aloft from Langley Field at 1 130 o'clock in the afternoon. It was just forty-nine minutes later that she lay in ruins, with most of those who had gone up in gay holiday mood dead in the wreckage. The whole story was compressed into the last minute or so. In that time Captain Mabry and Lieut. Byron G. Burt, at the control wheels, had striven with every resource of courage and skill to guide the wobbling airship to a safe landing. Others trained for swift action in just such pinched seconds had played their part by hurling overboard bag after bag of sand ballast. An instant later the falling airship came into contact with the electric wires, charged with 2,300 volts, that supply current to the army base, and the explosion and fire followed.   Many Officers Among Dead The crushed, misshapen mass that thudded onto the field was a funeral pyre of such intense heat that the agonies of those who were not killed in the crash must have been mercifully brief. The bodies were burned beyond recognition and the slow work of listing the victims was carried out partly by a process of elimination and partly through non-combustible objects that the aviators had carried in their pockets. That list when it was completed showed that two majors, four captains, and seven Lieutenants were among the lost.   Lt. W. E. Riley, a member of the official crew, jumped from a window of the cabin when the explosion came. His parachute failed to work properly and he struck the street pavement on his head. His neck was broken and he died before reaching the hospital.   There was just one man who leaped and landed on soft ground. He escaped almost unhurt with the exception of a few burns on his face and hands. He is Lt. Byron G. Burt. He jumped from the Roma when she was about thirty feet in the air. He landed in the mud on the shore of Hampton Roads.   Captain Walter G.[sic] Reed, who stood by the ship to the last and did all he could to help others, came out of the burning mass of steel and wood and rags with just a few scars on his ears and hands. He says he does not know why he is alive. Of all the line officers on the Roma only two escaped death — Captain Reed and Lt. Burt.   Falls Across Railroad Track The airship fell directly across a railroad track, the elevator and rudder falling on and remaining suspended from a telegraph pole. At one side of the track was a stack of steel parts of railway cars, on the other was a big heap of pig iron. It was into the pile of iron scraps that the passenger car of the dirigible smashed.   Rescuers from the Army Supply Depot rushed to the scene, and many daring attempts were made to penetrate the smoke and gas to rescue those in the ship. It was several hours before the car of the airship could be reached, and then only after army, navy, and civilian fire-fighting forces had quenched the flames. The rescue work was also delayed until huge army derricks were brought to the scene to lift the steel wreckage from the car.   Major General Mason M. Patrick, Chief of Air Service, who flew to the scene of the disaster a few hours after it occurred, sent the following telegram to the Adjutant General on February 22: "Have ordered thorough investigation to determine cause of Roma disaster. Information already gathered indicates that cable to elevating rudders broke. Ship nosed down. Struck live wires carrying high tension electric current and this started fire. There was no explosion and no fire until after those wires were hit and broken. "PATRICK." General Patrick also reported orally that the accident to the elevating rudders of the Roma occurred at an elevation of only 600 feet.   Crew of Picked Men The Roma's crew was picked from the men stationed at Langley Field. They were said to be among the best airmen at the big army post. Each man was assigned to certain duties, and each man was an expert at the duties assigned to him.   It is the opinion of all survivors, as well as of observers of the disaster, that the officers in charge of the craft, the operating crew, and others aboard acted most admirably and coolly under the harrowing circumstances. They are declared to have stuck to their posts as long as it was possible to do anything with the ship, a number dying at their posts of duty.   In the flight, on what was to have been a speed trial with her four Liberty motors, each of 400 horsepower, the Roma was to have tried to maintain a speed of 100 -miles an hour. It was the first time up with the new motors, and the first time she had ever attempted to make any unusual speed.   The Roma had not been out of her hangar at Langley Field for several weeks. — Army and Navy Journal, 25 February, 1922.

 

THE MABRYS Read about the life of Milton Harvey Mabry, Sr. A Supreme Court Justice, a Lawyer, a Doctor, a Real Estate Developer, an Army Captain With Histories of the Knight Building, Hampton building, Stovall office building, First National Bank buildings, First Florida Tower, Citizens Bank building, Exchange Bank buildings, and Wolf Bros. FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF TAMPA HISTORY with events concerning the Stovall office bldg, the Whiskey bottle water tank, Wolf Bros., the Citizens Bank bldg., the Tampa Gas Co. building, and Lykes Gaslight Park THE EXCHANGE NATIONAL BANK OF TAMPA TAMPA'S MABRY FAMILY ANCESTRY and DESCENDANTS OF MILTON HARVEY MABRY SR. AND ELLA DALE BRAMLETT with separate page for DALE MABRY (This page.)