[Senshi]

I really don't get where you see anything like the ship "breaking apart"...for one, as Richard explained, ships do always have a bit of flexibility to ease out rough conditions, but the picture doesn't even show any sign of the ship being "bent" or broken. The ship simply isn't that long. Remember you are not looking at a CV, but a CVE with a "mere" length of 512ft (156m) . Another reason for it to seem short: Perspective. You have to be aware that the picture was taken from another vessel, which very probably was shaken wildly, too. Thus there are many factors which influence the appearance of a strong leaning in the Lunga Point. If you take a look at picture two (which probably was taken shortly before the first one, as their archive number only differs by 2), you get an impressions of how rough the conditions are, seeing how the wave breaks at the hull...