Trial by Fire
A Novel
Reeks: P. T. Deutermann WWII Novels
P. T. Deutermann
- Based
- on
- a
- true
- story—P.
- T.
- Deutermann's
- Trial
- by
- Fire
- is
- a
- dramatic
- WWII
- novel
- of
- attack,
- survival,
- and
- triumph
- on
- board
- an
- aircraft
- carrier
- in
- the
- Pacific.It's
- March
- 1945
- and
- the
- war
- in
- the
- Pacific
- is
- approaching
- its
- apocalyptic
- climax.
- The
- largest
- wartime
- armada
- ever
- assembled,
- Task
- Force
- 58,
- is
- closing
- in
- on
- Okinawa;
- once
- taken,
- it
- will
- finally
- put
- American
- B-29
- bombers
- in
- comfortable
- range
- of
- the
- home
- islands
- of
- Japan—and
- victory.At
- the
- heart
- of
- the
- fleet
- are
- 14
- Essex-class
- aircraft
- carriers,
- including
- the
- USS
- Franklin,
- known
- as
- "Big
- Ben"—a
- 27,000-ton
- behemoth,
- home
- to
- 3,600
- crewmen
- and
- 100
- aircraft.
- Just
- after
- dawn,
- while
- crewmen
- prepare
- for
- battle,
- a
- single
- Japanese
- Yokosuka
- D4Y
- bomber
- breaks
- through
- the
- clouds
- and
- drops
- a
- 500-pound
- semi-armor
- piercing
- bomb
- on
- Big
- Ben.
- The
- bomb
- rips
- through
- the
- wooden
- flight
- deck
- before
- exploding
- on
- the
- hangar
- deck,
- amidst
- two
- dozen
- fully
- fueled
- and
- armed
- fighter-bombers.
- The
- resulting
- explosion
- engulfs
- both
- the
- hangar
- deck
- and
- all
- the
- planes
- spotted
- on
- the
- flight
- deck.
- Bombs
- cook
- off
- and
- rockets
- howl
- in
- all
- directions,
- both
- on
- the
- flight
- deck
- and
- down
- in
- the
- hangar
- bays.
- Hundreds
- of
- men
- are
- forced
- to
- leap
- into
- the
- sea
- to
- escape
- the
- rivers
- of
- burning
- aviation
- gasoline,
- leaving
- the
- captain
- with
- only
- one
- third
- of
- his
- crew,
- of
- whom
- there
- are
- more
- dead,
- wounded
- and
- trapped
- men
- left
- onboard
- than
- able-bodied
- sailors.Trial
- By
- Fire
- is
- the
- gripping
- novelization
- of
- how,
- against
- all
- odds,
- the
- sailors
- of
- the
- Franklin
- were
- able
- to
- save
- their
- ship,
- after
- 3
- agonizing
- days
- of
- battling
- the
- flames
- that
- ultimately
- claimed
- the
- lives
- of
- 832
- men
- and
- injured
- 300
- more.
- Readers
- will
- be
- astounded
- and
- humbled
- by
- the
- heroic
- actions
- of
- a
- few
- extraordinarily
- brave
- sailors
- in
- the
- face
- of
- unending catastrophe.
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