Book excerpt: Petrof Bay (CVE-80) was a small escort carrier, thrust into the Pacific war against the mighty Japanese Navy. When faced with certain annihilation her brave officers and crew never faltered. Petrof Bay miraculously endured some of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Taking on the enemy at; Peleliu, Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, she survived the war untouched. Relive the dangers at sea when murderous kamikaze pilots bore in for the kill. Hang-on when a Japanese submarine fires a salvo of torpedoes at the defenseless carrier. Join the crew for the wild events at the Battle of Leyte Gulf when her pilots attack the Japanese super-battleship Yamato! Following Iwo Jima, Petrof Bay pilots' gun-down 17 enemy planes in exciting aerial combat over the island of Okinawa. In early 1946, a triumphant Petrof Bay quietly returned from World War II and was never heard from again. In fact, the fantastic tale of her extraordinary career has never been told—until now! Years of research combined with information from recently declassified U.S. Navy documents has allowed the exciting yet true adventures of this courageous ship, her pilots and her crew to finally be told. Escort Carrier WWII is written by Rick Cline, the son of a Petrof Bay crew member—he also wrote Submarine Grayback and Final Dive.