The Shortage of Lifeboats

One of the reasons why so many on the Titanic perished was that there were a small number of lifeboats. Only 20 lifeboats were on the Titanic, and most of them were filled nowhere close to their full capacity. One of the lifeboats only had a dozen people in it when its maximum capacity was 40! And only one of the lifeboats went back to search for survivors.

The reason why there was so little lifeboats for such a huge ship was a rule dating back to 1894: Any ship above 10,000 gross registered tons was required to have sixteen lifeboats. This rule was out of date. It had not taken into account ships like the Titanic, which was 46,239 gross registered tons, more than four times the maximum size included in the tables.

The Titanic actually had room on the boat deck for about 48 lifeboats, more than enough to save all the passengers and crew. But the makers of the ship argued that passengers would want to relax on the boat deck, and that a large number of lifeboats would block their view of the sea. 20 lifeboats was soon settled on.

Launching the Lifeboats

Before people got into a lifeboat, crew members would have to uncover it and swing it out over the side of the ship. On the bottom of each lifeboat, there was a small hole to keep the boats from collecting water on the deck. These holes would have to be blocked up before the boat reached the water.

Passengers actually did not board the lifeboats from the boat deck. Crew members lowered the boat down and stopped it right beside A Deck (the deck directly beneath the boat deck), and passengers would board from there. Then the crew members would have to lower the boat seventy feet down to the water, without tipping out the passengers.

Wooden Lifeboats

Of the Titanic's 20 lifeboats, 14 were wooden lifeboats. Each of the lifeboats were about 30 feet long, and their capacities were 65 people each.

Emergency cutters

The Titanic had two smaller wooden lifeboats, called "emergency cutters". The cutters would be launched if there was an incident, such as a man overboard. They were always kept swung out, ready for action. Both of the cutters had a capacity of 40 people each.

These 16 lifeboats (the wooden boats and the cutters) were all known by numbers, with odd-numbered boats on the starboard (right) side and even-numbered boats on the port (left) side.

Collapsible Lifeboats

The Titanic's last four lifeboats were collapsible lifeboats. They were called this because their sides could be collapsed for easier storage. They were known by letters, with A and C on the starboard side and B and D on the port side. The collapsibles were lashed right-side up on the roof of the officers' quarters.

They were made by the Englehardt company and were often called the "Englehardt collapsibles". Each one had a capacity of 47 people. One of the collapsible lifeboats did not even make it off the ship right-side up. It floated off upside-down, with about a dozen men clinging to it.

In all, the maximum number of people that all the lifeboats could have saved was 1,178 people, not nearly enough to save the 2,208 people that were on board. But even though the boats could hold such a huge number of people, only 712 people got on. Several people even died while they were on the lifeboats.

Launch Times

This section shows you the order in which the lifeboats were launched and the approximate times each one was launched.

Starboard side

12:40: Lifeboat 7

12:45: Lifeboat 5

12:55: Lifeboat 3

1:05: Lifeboat 1

1:30: Lifeboat 9

1:35: Lifeboat 11

1:40: Lifeboats 13 and 15

2:00: Collapsible C

2:15: Collapsible A

Port side

1:00: Lifeboat 8

1:10: Lifeboat 6

1:20: Lifeboat 16

1:25: Lifeboat 14

1:30: Lifeboat 12

1:45: Lifeboat 2

1:50: Lifeboats 10 and 4

2:05: Collapsible D

2:15: Collapsible B

Lifeboat 6

Lifeboats 15 and 13

A collapsible lifeboat

Lifeboats on their davits (launching arms)

Lifeboats being launched from the Titanic in a movie