There has always been much discussion about which lifeboat was launched when and what the order was. Lifeboat 7 was the first one to leave, but as late as 12:45 A.M? Plenty of sources tell us that it was 20 minutes earlier. And was boat 10 launched before or after boat 12? And did Captain Smith launch boat 1 or 2?
Titanic's list at the launchings[]
Titanic was listing to starboard at the beginning of her sinking[1][2] until 1:05 A.M, afterwards slowly that list shifted to port and she sank under a heavy port list. Between that, there was a period where Titanic had no list. This provided a first important clue on the overall launching sequence.
Starboard:
| Lifeboat | List of the ship during launch |
|---|---|
| 1 | None |
| 3 | Starboard[3] |
| 5 | Starboard[3] |
| 7 | Starboard[3][4] |
| 9 | Port |
| 11 | Port |
| 13 | Port |
| 15 | Port |
| A | Port[5] |
| C | Port[6] |
Port:
| Lifeboat | List of the ship during launch |
|---|---|
| 2 | Port |
| 4 | Port |
| 6 | Starboard[7] |
| 8 | None |
| 10 | Port[8] |
| 12 | Port[9] |
| 14 | Port[10] |
| 16 | Slight Port |
| B | Port |
| D | Port[11][12] |
Conclusions to be drawn from Titanic's list[]
Based on Titanic's list, we have three "sets" of lifeboats:
- Boats 3, 5, 6 & 7 went first, when Titanic still had a starboard list.
- Boats 8 and 1 went next, when Titanic had no list.
- Boats 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & the Collapsibles went after these 10, when Titanic had a port list.
Full launching sequence[]
| Launch times | Lifeboat | List of the ship during launch | Launched by these officers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:25 | 7 | Starboard | Murdoch[13][14], Lowe[15] | ||
| 12:28 | 5 | Starboard | Murdoch, Pitman (left), Lowe | ||
| 12:55 | 6 | Starboard | Captain Smith, Lightoller | ||
| 12:43 | 3 | Starboard | Murdoch, Lowe | ||
| 1:00 | 1 | None | Murdoch, Lowe | ||
| 1:05 | 8 | None | Smith, Wilde, Lightoller | ||
| 1:20 | 16 | Slight Port | Moody | ||
| 1:30 | 14 | Slight Port | Wilde, Lightoller, Lowe (left) | ||
| 1:25 | 12 | Slight port | Smith, Wilde, Lightoller | ||
| 1:28 | 9 | Slight port | Murdoch, Moody | ||
| 1:35 | 11 | Port | Murdoch | ||
| 1:40 | 2 | Port | Smith, Wilde | ||
| 1:43 | 13 | Port | Murdoch, Moody | ||
| 1:45 | 15 | Port | Murdoch, Moody | ||
| 1:50 | 10 | Port | Wilde | ||
| 2'00 | C | Port | Wilde, Murdoch | ||
| 1:50 | 4 | Port | Lightoller | ||
| 2:05 | D | Port | Wilde, Lightoller | ||
| 2:07* | A | None | Murdoch, Moody | ||
| 2:13 | B | None | Lightoller (left) |
* Floated off when bridge went under, not launched.
Sources[]
- ↑ US Inquiry day 5, Robert Hichens
- ↑ US Inquiry day 7, Frank Osman
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 British Inquiry day 10, questions 11440-11442, George Symons
- ↑ US Inquiry day 13, Norman Campbell Chambers
- ↑ British Inquiry day 9, questions 10530, Edward Brown
- ↑ US Inquiry day 11, Bruce Ismay
- ↑ British Inquiry day 3, questions 1372-1377, Robert Hichens
- ↑ British Inquiry day 6, questions 5987-5989, Charles John Joughin
- ↑ British Inquiry day 4, questions 3301-3306, John Thomas Poingdestre
- ↑ British Inquiry day 6, questions 5475-5476, Frank Herbert Morris
- ↑ US Inquiry day 7, John Hardy
- ↑ US Inquiry day 10, Hugh Woolner
- ↑ British Inquiry day 2, questions 89-90, Archie Jewell
- ↑ British Inquiry day 13, questions 14974, Third Officer Pitman
- ↑ British Inquiry day 13, questions 15808-15811, Fifth Officer Lowe
Ioannis Georgiou (December 2012 - September 2015). Die Geschichte der Rettungsboote. Titanic Post, Titanic-Verein Schweiz.