The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-02-22
DISASTER CASTS
GLOOM OVER ARMY
AND NAVY CHIEFS
Secretary of War viii Make No
Comment Until Official Re
ports Have Been Made.
FATAL FLIGHT WAS MADE
TO TRY OUT NEW ENGINES
If HeIium Gas Had Been Used,
Accident Would Have Been
Less Terrible.
fsv The Assoclated Press)


, today, at the Hampton Roads army
base to the army's Italian built air.
ship Roma, largest craft of her type
in the world, cast gloom over the war
and navy departments as the long list
of officers and men who were. burned
to death in the ship came in. Pend
ing full official reports, however, Sec
retary Weeks and air service officials
baG no comment tosmake. Immediate
ly on receipt of the news, Major Cen
eral Patrick, chief of the air service,
left for the scene by airplane.
Unofficial reports indicated that
failure of rudder controls had caused
the Roma to become unmanageable
thousand or more feet in the air and
plunged earthwaFd where she struck
high tension electric wires which were
thought to have ignited the hundreds
of thousands of cubic feel of hydrogen
gas which filled the great bag. Pend
ing detailed accounts from survivors,
officers. here accepted this as the
probable explanation of the disaster.
With several officers of the ship
and some of her skilled mechanics
among the survivors, II was hoped that
full information would be available.
When the British built airship ZR-2
came to a tragic end through explos-
ion in the air during a trial trip in
England, evidence of the cause of the
smash had to be sought in the wreck
age for there were no Survivors who
could tell what happened. In this
case, it has since been ascertained. the
buckling of a portion of the frame
work resulted in destruction of the
ship.
Navy officials laid emphasis, in
talking of the Roma's destruction, on
the point that had been possible to
develop a sufficient supply of helium,
the new. on-inflammable gas first
produced during the war, to fill her
great bag, today, accident almost GER
tainly would have been far less ter
rible. There would have been no fire
after the crash, at least, it was said,
it was the terrible heat of the blaz-
ing hydrogen which apparently
brought death to more than thirty
men. But so far, only sufficient he'll
ium has been produced to initiate the
naval blimb CT, a mere ship of the
air beside the Roma. The CT made
her trial flight CARRIED by the new gas
during the first day of the recent
arms conference, journeying from
Hampton Roads to Washington and
back
During the Roma's trip in December
from Langley Field to Washington to
be christened and formally commits
stoned in the army air fleet, she de-
developed trouble with her original
Italian motors but otherwise func
toned perfectly. The ship fought an
increasing head wind all the way and
reached Bowling field with only three
of her six motors running. She had
so little power as she approached the
landing place where scores of distin-
guished guests awaited her, that her
commander was compelled to jockey
his monster craft over the low hills
that surround the field with utmost
cunning to bring her in at ALL
Because of the motor trouble the
scheduled initial flight of the Roma
over Washington with Secretaries
Weeks and DENLY and the Italian am
bassador In her cabins as well as SEN
ators and members Of the house was
postponed. The ship went back to
Langley running by the wind and
barely reached her hangar before a |
coast gale broke. She remained in /
the shed for many weeks to have her |
motors replaced Iby liberty engines of /
greater power and more certainty of /
performance. The flight which proved |
her last was one of those made TO test ,
her new propelling plant and it had /
been expected she would show greatly |
improved speed and maneuver ability.
Destruction OF the Roma leaves both /
the army and navy without airships |
larger than the navy blimps. There is
now not in the United States a rigid |
Or semi-rigid craft even family re-
sembling the German zeppelins. The /
zR-1 is under construction by the !,
navy. however. and recently arrange
ments were made with the cooperation /
Of the allied governments that the
Zeppelin plant in Germany should |
oulld for the navy a Zeppelin of the |
L type which proved successful during
the war.