Lieutenant (later Major) Earl Frederick Crabb (March 27, 1899 – October 18, 1986) was a World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with six aerial victories. After World War I, he was an aviation pioneer and

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

. He returned to military aviation during World War II. He flew as a commercial pilot until he was 72 years old.

World War I

Crabb served in 92 Squadron under the command of fellow ace and future Air Marshal Arthur Coningham. Crabbe flew a

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fas ...

to score all six of his victories. They took place between 22 July and 29 October 1918. Crabbe downed five German

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

fighters and a DFW reconnaissance plane; the latter kill was shared with fellow ace

Thomas Stanley Horry Squadron Leader Thomas Stanley Horry (21 May 1898 – 15 January 1960) was a First World War flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. He was the son of William Horry of Rout Green, Boston, Lincolnshire. He attended Framlingham College ...

and another pilot. Crabb was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross on 8 February 1919.

Between the wars

Crabb remained in aviation after war's end. He barnstormed. He flew air mail from Boston and New York to Detroit during the 1920s. In the early 1930s, he was the first pilot hired by the U.S. Forest Service in Maine.

World War II and beyond

Crabb returned to duty for World War II as a major, joining the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

and serving in Training Command. After his discharge in 1945, he returned to his civilian flying job. He retired as Chief Pilot with the Forest Service at age 65, circa 1964. He continued to fly as a commercial pilot until about 1971.

References

* ''Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920.'' Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Crabb, Earl Frederick 1899 births 1986 deaths Canadian World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People from Norfolk County, Ontario People from Tamarac, Florida Commercial aviators