As any sailor will vouch, there is always that hollow feeling that comes over you at least once while over the deep blue, far from shore, where you realize that it is never a certain thing that the ocean will not choose to simply rise up and swallow your little bit of floating atmosphere and take it swiftly to the bottom.
The view from the sea bridge of the 11,000-ton Royal Navy Town (Southampton)-class cruiser HMS Sheffield (C24) as she battled heavy seas while escorting convoy JW 53 to Northern Russia, in February 1943. The ship suffered severe structural damage– with a third of the roof of A turret peeled away– during three days of storms and had to return to port for repairs.
IWM (A 14890)