Lowe fires his gun in the 1997 Titanic film.
The Shooting at Lifeboat 14 was a minor skirmish during the sinking of the RMS Titanic that occurred while lifeboat 14 was being lowered on the aft part of the Boat Deck on portside.
Fifth Officer Harold Lowe, the man in charge of the boat, became very nervous due to several passengers attempting and threatening to swarm and jump into the boat which He was afraid of buckling boats and didn't like the idea of having his passengers and crew flipped out of the boat into the water below by the crazed horde, so he fired a few warning shots in the water to avoid any potential catastrophe. Although no one was hurt by the shots, this may have caused anyone who heard the gunfire to believe someone had been shot and killed. Sometime during the skirmish, A young man had also tried to enter the boat and was thrown out and either him or another man was rumored to have been threatened by Officer Lowe at gunpoint.
The shots he fired did prove affective, as no further attempts were made to dive or throw themselves at the boat.
Inquiry[]
Fifth Officer Lowe was questioned a lot over his shooting during the US Inquiry and later at the Inquiry by the British Board of Trade, as a way to establish that no one was hurt. When Senator Smith came with one question, Lowe responded that his gun was still in his pocket.
Portrayal in movies[]
This scene is depicted in the 1997 movie 'Titanic'. Like his historical account, he fired shots during the lowering. The difference is, that the movie depicts him as firing 3 quick shots in the air just over the heads of scared occupants, while in the real event, he fired one shot into the water after each deck that the lifeboat passed while going down the hull of the ship.
Sources[]
- 'Titanic' ©1996 (second print, 1998) Edward P. De Groot