Dates

• Usage: 1896 - 1974

Biographical Note

Aron Fabian "Duke" Krantz was a barnstormer during the 1920s and 1930s.

Krantz was born in Sweden in 1896. He came to the United States in 1915 at the age of 18. In 1919, Krantz joined the U.S. Army. He was assigned to Kelly Field, Texas and the 27th Aero Squadron, but never made the air cadets and never flew. In 1924, he became a barnstormer, performing as "Diavolo" and "Sky High" Krantz with the Gates Flying Circus. Over the next four years, he performed roughly 1,000 times and completed around 500 plane changes.

During that time, he also learned to fly. He completed his own aircraft and claimed to have pulled 32 consecutive loops over Teterboro Airport during his first solo flight in 1927. Krantz left the Gates Flying Circus in 1928 and became a commercial pilot for American International Airways. Circa 1932, he flew for the New York Daily News. During World War II he worked for Boeing and Bell Aircraft. Post-war, he joined Bendix Aviation and remained there for the next 16 years.

Krantz died of a heart attack in 1974.

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