Titanic Lifeboats, by the Numbers
64 — the number of lifeboats the Titanic could have been capable of carrying (with a maximum capacity well over the ships maximum capacity of 3,547 people).
48 — the number of lifeboats originally planned for Titanic by the chief designer Alexander Carlisle, 3 on each davit, with a capacity of 3,120, close to the number of people on board. (The number was reduced for cosmetic reasons, to make the decks look less cluttered).
20 — the number of lifeboats actually carried. (At the time the requirement was based on the gross register tonnage of a ship, not its passenger capacity).
14 Thirty-foot wooden lifeboats (capacity 65 ea. = 910)
4 Folding or ‘collapsible’ lifeboats (capacity 47 ea. = 188)
2 Wooden cutters (capacity 40 ea. = 80)
Total 20 Boats, Total Capacity 1,178 people
3,534 — the total number of people on board
2,208 — the number of passengers on board
1,326 — the number of crew on board
33% — the percentage of the ship’s total passengers and crew that the lifeboats could accommodate.
40%– the number of lifeboat spaces that went unfilled (472).
18 — the number of lifeboats successfully launched. (collapsibles A and B floated off the Titanic).
30 — the number of people who managed to survive on the upturned hull of collapsible lifeboat B, having failed to right it.
28 — the number of people the first wooden lifeboat (№7) actually had on board (capacity 65)
12 — the number of people wooden lifeboat №1 actually had on board (capacity 65). This boat contained 5 first-class passengers and 7 crew members, and was named the ‘Millionaire’s Boat’ by the press, who accused the occupants of ignoring cries for help from people in the water.
1 hour 35 minutes — the approximate length of time it took to load and launch the 18 lifeboats
1 — the number of lifeboats that returned to try and save others after launching (there was a general fear that a return toward the sinking ship would result in lifeboats being overwhelmed by desperate victims and capsizing).
9 — the number of people rescued from the water after the lifeboats launched.
1 hour 10 minutes — the approximate length of time that the lifeboats were in the water, before the Carpathia arrived on the scene.
4 hours — the approximate time it took to unload all of the lifeboats after Carpathia arrived.
“The partly filled lifeboat standing by about 100 yards away never came back. Why on Earth they never came back is a mystery. How could any human being fail to heed those cries?”
-Jack B Thayer, Titanic Survivor
Titanic Lifeboats — Order of Launch
12:40 am — Lifeboat 7 (starboard) 28 aboard
12:43 am — Lifeboat 5 (starboard) 36 aboard
01:00 am — Lifeboat 3 (starboard) 40 aboard
01:00 am — Lifeboat 8 (port) 28 aboard
01:05 am — Lifeboat 1 (starboard) 12 aboard
01:10 am — Lifeboat 6 (port) 29 aboard
01:20 am — Lifeboat 16 (port) 39 aboard
01:25 am — Lifeboat 14 (port) 48 aboard
01:30 am — Lifeboat 12 (port) 29 aboard
01:30 am — Lifeboat 9 (starboard) 38 aboard
01:35 am — Lifeboat 11 (starboard) 68 aboard
01:40 am — Lifeboat 13 (starboard) 63 aboard
01:41 am — Lifeboat 15 (starboard) 64 aboard
01:45 am — Lifeboat 2 (port) 18 aboard
01:50 am — Lifeboat 10 (port) 39 aboard
01:50 am — Lifeboat 4 (port) 42 aboard
02:00 am — Collapsible lifeboat C (starboard) 45 aboard
02:05 am — Collapsible lifeboat D (port) 22 aboard
02:15 am — Collapsible lifeboats B (port) 30 aboard (though overturned)
02:15 am — Collapsible A (starboard) 0 aboard (washed away empty)
718 total?
712 reported rescued
So, who would you be? The guy who designed the ship to carry 64 lifeboats? The guy who planned for 48? The guy that decided 48 boats were clutter and chose 20?
A passenger who can’t believe the ship is actually sinking? A passenger trying to get on a boat?
A crewman trying to get passengers into the boats?
A passenger in a boat? A passenger on collapsible B trying to survive? A person in the boat that went back? A person in lifeboat №1?
And what do you think of the US policy on refugees?
