Cloaked by jungle foliage, the unheralded seaplane tenders operated ahead of the Fleet, like the Navy's famed PT boats. As Halsey's South Pacific, MacArthur's southwest Pacific, and Spruance's Central Pacific forces advanced toward Japan, these ships served as afloat-bases for patrol planes referred to as the "eyes of the fleet". The Japanese were keen to destroy the scouts and their floating bases, and seaplane tenders often lived a furtive existence,...