The stresses on the hull girder due to excessive bending moments reached a point where structural failures started to take place. Sounds characterised as explosions, wrenchings, tearings, bulkheads collapsing, are all consistent with stress failures. Whatever part water pressure played in the breakup was secondary at best. The hull could easily withstand an outside pressure differential that was several times greater than being subject to trochoidal waves of 42½ feet crest-to-trough.