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

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

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

Air Marshal

Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Arthur Coningham

Arthur Coningham (RAF officer)

Air Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War, he was at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a flying ace...

. Crabbe flew a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a to score all six of his victories. They took place between 22 July and 29 October 1918. Crabbe downed five German Fokker D.VII

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 summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...

 fighters and a DFW

Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke

Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke, usually known as DFW was a German aircraft manufacturer of the early twentieth century. It was established by Bernhard Meyer and Erich Thiele at Lindenthal in 1910, and initially produced Farman designs under licence, later moving on to the Etrich Taube and eventually to...

 reconnaissance plane; the latter kill was shared with fellow ace Thomas Stanley Horry

Thomas Stanley Horry

Lieutenant Thomas Stanley Horry was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.-References:...

 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 barnstorm

Barnstorm

Barnstorm is the first album by Joe Walsh following his departure from the James Gang, released in 1972 . The core band on this album – Walsh, bassist Kenny Passarelli and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale – was also named Barnstorm.-History:With this album, Walsh and Barnstorm moved away...

ed. 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 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.

Reference

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. ISBN 0-948817-19-4, 9780948817199.