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Earl Crabb [Canada]

Name:Earl Frederick Crabb
Country:Canada
Rank:Lieutenant
Service:Royal Flying Corps
Royal Air Force
Squadrons:92
Victories:6
Born:27 March 1899
Place of Birth:Norfolk, Ontario
Died:18 October 1986
Place of Death:Tamarac, Florida, USA
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) Earl Crabb [Thanks to Robert Crabb]
Notes
Under the command of Arthur Coningham, Crabb went to France with 92 Squadron in July 1918. Flying the S.E.5a, he and five other pilots in the squadron became aces. Of his six victories, Crabb brought down five Fokker D.VII's. When the war ended, he took his discharge but continued to fly. During the roaring 20's he barnstormed and flew mail and newspapers from Boston and New York to Detroit. In the early 1930's, he was the first pilot hired by the Forest Service in Maine. During World War II, he returned to uniform, serving with the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Service Pilot and Air Inspector in Training Command. Major Crabb was discharged in August 1945 and returned to his civilian job in Maine. At age 65, he retired from his position as Chief Pilot with the Forest Service but continued to work as a commercial pilot until he was 72 years old. His son, Robert Crabb, recalls: "I spent many a happy hour as a teenager flying over the woods of Maine. When I was an Aviation Cadet in '44 he flew in several times to visit my base, usually a C47 or a B18."

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
"A scout pilot of high merit; he is fearless and skillful. On October 27th, having himself crashed an enemy machine, he went to the assistance of one of our own that was being attacked, and materially helped to shoot the enemy down. In addition to the foregoing, he has accounted for three other machines and assisted in crashing a fourth." DFC citation, London Gazette, 8 February 1919

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