__NOTOC__ The SCDA O-1 was an Italian semi-rigid airship, the only true semi-rigid airship to serve with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Operational service

The O-1 was ordered from Stabilimento Costruzioni Dirigibili ed Aerostati (SCDA) by the United States Navy. Its first flight was made at Ciampino, Italy, on 27 March 1919. Following tests, it was sent from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, Italy, leaving on 24 May 1919. It was sent to

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

for study and was then erected at the airship base at

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

. The O-1 first flew in the USA on 16 September 1919. While operating from Cape May, the O-1 lost all power on a landing approach and was blown to near Pennsville, New Jersey where the crew managed to land it. The O-1 was eventually returned to service and while on temporary duty at Hampton Roads the O-1 was used to launch gliders designed to be anti-aircraft targets. The date the O-1 was scrapped is not known, but was probably in the winter of 1921–22.

Operators

; *

Specifications O-1

* Crew: 3 * Volume: 127,000 cu ft * Length: 177.8 ft) * Diameter: 35.4 ft * Gross lift: 9,125 lbs * Empty weight: 5,850 lbs * Useful lift: 3,290 lbs * Keel: Articulated steel * Powerplant: Two, Colombo, 125 hp

References

*Shock, James R., "U.S. Navy Airships 1915–1962, Edgewater, Florida, Atlantis Productions, 2001, Airships of the United States Navy Airships of Italy 1910s Italian aircraft 1910s United States aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1919 {{Aero-1910s-stub