Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic The lifeboats of the RMS "Titanic" played a crucial role in the disaster of 14–15 April 1912. One of the ship's legacies was that she had too few lifeboats to evacuate all those on board. The 20 lifeboats that she did carry could only accommodate 1,178 people, despite the fact that there were approximately 2,208 on board. had a maximum capacity of 3,327 passengers and crew. Eighteen lifeboats were used, loading between 11:45 p.m.–2:15 a.m., though Collapsible Boat A floated off the ship's partially submerged deck, and Collapsible Boat B floated away upside down minutes
Sinking of the RMS Titanic head-on collision, but the change in direction caused the ship to strike the iceberg with a glancing blow. An underwater spur of ice scraped along the starboard side of the ship for about seven seconds; chunks of ice dislodged from upper parts of the berg fell onto her forward decks. About five minutes after the collision, all of "Titanic"s engines were stopped, leaving the bow of the ship facing north and slowly drifting south in the Labrador Current. The impact with the iceberg was long thought to have produced a huge opening in "Titanic"s hull, "not less than in length,