Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic
| Lifeboat id numbers on deck | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ←stern | bow→ | ||
| (16) (14) (12) (10) | (8) (6) (4) (2) | ||
| (B) \(D) | |||
| (A) /(C) | |||
| (15) (13) (11) (9) | (7) (5) (3) (1) | ||
| Lifeboats 7, 5, 3 & 8 left first. Collapsible lifeboats A, B, C & D were stored inward. Boat A floated off the deck, and Boat B floated away upside down. | |||
The lifeboats of the RMS Titanic played a crucial role in the disaster of 14–15 April 1912. One of the ship's legacies was that she had too few lifeboats to evacuate all those on board. The 20 lifeboats that she did carry could only accommodate 1,178 people, despite the fact that there were approximately 2,224 on board. RMS Titanic had a maximum capacity of 3,327 passengers and crew.
Eighteen lifeboats were used, loading between 11:45–2:15 a.m., though Collapsible Boat A floated off deck partially submerged, and Collapsible Boat B floated away upside down minutes before the ship upended and sank.
Many lifeboats only carried half of their maximum capacity; there are many versions as to the reasoning behind half-filled lifeboats. Some sources claimed they were afraid of the lifeboat buckling under the weight, others suggested it was because the crew were following strict maritime tradition to evacuate women and children first. Additionally, doors and hatches were locked to prevent passengers on the lower decks from easily accessing and swamping the boats. Few men were allowed into the lifeboats on the port side, while the starboard side only allowed many men into boats after women and children boarded. Some of the final lifeboats were overfilled, and passengers noticed the seawater line was near the rim on some of the lifeboats.
As the half-filled boats rowed away from the ship, they were too far for other passengers to reach, and most lifeboats did not return to the wreck, due to protests from passengers or crewmen to prevent being swamped by drowning victims. Only two lifeboats returned to retrieve survivors from the water, some of whom later died.
RMS Carpathia did not reach the lifeboats until 4 a.m., two hours after Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea, and the rescue continued until the last lifeboat was collected at 8:30 a.m. The survivors among the men were relatively more crewmen, then more First Class and Third Class, with 92% of men dying from Second Class. However, the third-class women and children also died in relatively high numbers, with 66% of those children dying.
Although the sinking showed the number of lifeboats insufficient, Titanic was in compliance with maritime safety regulations of the time (albeit the Titanic disaster proved the regulations outdated for such large passenger ships). The Inquiry also revealed White Star Line wanted fewer boats on the decks, to provide unobstructed views for passengers and give the ship more aesthetics from an exterior view.
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