[1] Designated and advertised as the Model T-34, it was the first project of the Stabilimento Costruzioni Aeronautiche ("Aeronautical Construction Factory"), for the partnership of Nobile, Usuelli, Croce and Giuseppe Valle.

[3] During the inspection and delivery ceremonies in March, 1921, the Italians took the new owners of the Roma on a 300-mile (480 km) demonstration flight from Rome to Naples and back.

[5][URL required, verification needed] The Army originally planned to fly the Roma to the United States, but instead the airship was dismantled, packed in several crates and transported by ship, arriving in the US in August, 1921.

[6] After being reassembled with some difficulty by US Army Air Service crews at Langley, Roma flew in America for the first time on November 15, 1921, with minor problems.

On a subsequent flight, a propeller disintegrated, ripped open the envelope and slashed a gas bag but the dirigible managed to return to Langley Field safely.

[7][URL required, verification needed] During a flight to Washington, D.C., on December 21, 1921, the Roma experienced several engine breakdowns due to the extremely cold weather.

After lifting off, the pilot, Captain Dale Mabry, set a course along the shore of Chesapeake Bay that took it over Buckroe Beach, and Fort Monroe, before crossing Hampton Roads and passing over Willoughby Spit en-route to the Norfolk Navy Base.