By Sid Perkins
In February 1933, the Navy tanker USS Ramapo was steaming its way from the Philippines to San Diego in the midst of an exceptionally strong storm. The 146-meter-long ship was buffeted by near-hurricane–force winds. Early on the morning of Feb. 7, a wave far larger than the others surrounding the ship overtook the Ramapo from behind.
As the stern of the ship dropped into the trough in front of the wave, an officer on the bridge noted that from his vantage point, the crest of the oncoming wave lined up with an observation platform on the ship’s mast. Basic geometry puts the wave at more than 34 m tall, the highest ever observed.