Lifeboat 16

Lifeboat 16
Type	Standard
Location on deck	Port aft
Time when launched from Titanic	1:10 A.M.
Launched by officers	Moody
Capacity	65
Estimated occupancy at launch	40
Estimated occupancy at rescue	40
Previous lifeboat launched	8
Next lifeboat launched	14

Lifeboat 16 and 14 being loaded, as seen in A Night to Remember (1958)

Lifeboat 16 was the third port side boat lowered, at 1:10 A.M. Sixth Officer Moody was overseeing the launch. Strangely, few testimonies tell the story of boat 16. Or, rather, there probably are some interviews pertaining to No. 16, but they have not been established as such. Third Class passenger Carla Andersen/Jensen, who lost brother, uncle and fiancé was very likely in this boat. She said the boat was lowered in such a that the occupants believed they would be thrown out of it when it was lowered away. It is not easy to say how many people there were in this boat, but there were at least six male crew, at least according to Second Class Saloon Steward Charles Andrews. There were also three stewardesses and perhaps 30 passengers, mainly from Third Class. Boat 16 stayed clear of the other boats, but encountered boat 6 and gave them a Fireman for rowing. As most of the port boats, it was late in reaching the Carpathia and it was commanded by Master-At-Arms Bailey.

It is possible that Mrs. Wells, a Second Class passenger, describes what happened in and near lifeboat 16.

Her story was shown by the Akron Beacon Journal in April 20, 1912:

"It is a thrilling story that Mrs. Wells tells of her night ride to safety. Like so many others she did not realize her peril and had she not been literally forced into a life boat might have shared the fate of 1,600 others. "We were all in bed," Mrs. Wells said: "Joan was asleep, but I was not. When the crash came I took the children and went on deck. I hadn't more than got there when someone grabbed me, saying: "This way," and hustled me and the children up to the lifeboat. "An officer was shouting, "'Come on here, lively now, this way, women and children' and before I knew what was happening we were in a lifeboat, and the boat was going down the side while the men stood back serious and sober, watching us. "I thought even then it was some sort of a drill or something, except that just as we went down I saw a revolver in an Officer's hand. "A Mrs. Davis and a little boy were in the boat with us, and she asked me what it was all about. "As soon as the boat struck water, the seaman began pulling away with all their might. As we got away, we saw a lot of wild eyed men come rushing up from steerage, but they were met by a man with a gun who pushed them back into a crowd of men and said, "Stand back there now, the first word out of you and I'll ----" I didn't catch the rest. Some of the men from the first and second class cabins were standing beside the officer. "There were 40 or 50 in our boat and I couldn't get a chance to sit down, but stood up keeping the babies warm and dry in my skirts. The sailors pulled at the oars for all they were worth, but the boat kept drifting back against the ship. Finally we got away a hundred feet and we didn't have any more trouble. We spent the night in the boat and were picked up at daybreak."

Occupants

• Henry Joseph Bailey -------- Master At Arms (in charge)
• Ernest Edward Archer --------Able Seaman
• James Forward------------- Able Seaman
• Charles Edward Andrews ----Second Class Saloon Steward
• Violet Constance Jessop --- First Class Stewardess
• Mary Sloan ------------------ First Class Stewardess
• Mrs. Elizabeth May Leather -- First Class Stewardess
• Evelyn Marsden ------------- First Class Stewardess
• Lyyli Karoliina Silvén* ------- Second Class Passenger
• Miss Edwina Trout* (D?) --- --Second Class Passenger
• Karen Marie Abelseth -------- Third Class Passenger
• Carla Andersen ------------- Third Class Passenger
• Anna Elisabeth Dyker -------- Third Class Passenger
• Kate "Katie" Gilnagh --------- Third Class Passenger
• Annie Kate Kelly ------------- Third Class Passenger
• Agnes McCoy ---------------- Third Class Passenger
• Alice McCoy ----------------- Third Class Passenger
• Bernard McCoy*-------------- Third Class Passenger (picked out of the water???)
• Catherine Mullin ------------- Third Class Passenger
• Kate Murphy ----------------- Third Class Passenger
• Berta Olivia Nilsson* --------- Third Class Passenger
• Thamine Tannūs*(14?)--------Third Class Passenger
• As'ad Tannūs *(14?) ----------Third Class Passenger

_{* = not certain}

Popular culture

A Night to Remember (1958)

A woman almost fell to the sea, happened during the loaded of Lifeboat 16, as seen in A Night to Remember

In A Night to Remember, a small group of third class passengers consisting of James Farrell, Martin Gallagher, Patrick Murphy, Mrs. Farrell, Kate Gilnagh, Polish Girl and Polish Mother, arrive near lifeboat 16, where a woman nearly falls overboard because she hysterically doesn't want to part with her husband during the loading of Lifeboat 16.

The woman finally got pulled into the boat, then Fifth Officer Harold Lowe summoned the ladies to get into the lifeboat, Mrs. Farrell, Kate, Polish Mother and Polish Girl then parted ways with the gentlemen.

Titanic (1997)

The chaos near lifeboat 16 and 14, as seen in the 1997 film Titanic

In the 1997 film, the loading of Lifeboats 16 and 14 was so chaotic because the two lifeboats were last on the aft port side, so Lightoller and Lowe had to open fire.

After lifeboat 14 was launched, lifeboat 16 was launched, becoming the sixth lifeboat launched on the port side, instead of being the third as happens in real life. Meanwhile, lifeboat 10 was incorrectly seen as being launched earlier than these two boats, whilst in reality, it was one of the later boats, at the very late time of 1:45 A.M.

Sources

1. _{'Titanic' ©1996 (second print, 1998) Edward P. De Groot}