How Many People Died on the Titanic?

Crafted with the latest technology of her time, the Titanic was the largest passenger ship to date. Deemed virtually unsinkable, the vessel was engineered with ten watertight compartments designed to close off if the Titanic happened to spring a leak. In accordance with rules and regulations of the time, the Titanic was equipped with twenty lifeboats and actually exceeded the number of required lifeboats on the vessel. Since the regulations of the time weren't based on capacity, but rather projected tonnage of the vessel, the Titanic would only have needed 16 lifeboats in order to be in compliance. Lifeboats aboard the Titanic were as follows:

• Lifeboats 1 and 2: emergency wooden cutters: 25′2″ long by 7′2″ wide by 3′2″ deep; capacity 326.6 cubic feet or 40 persons
• Lifeboats 3 to 16: wooden lifeboats: 30′ long by 9′1″ wide by 4′ deep; capacity 655.2 cubic feet or 65 persons
• Lifeboats A, B, C and D: Englehardt “collapsible” lifeboats: 27′5″ long by 8′ wide by 3′ deep; capacity 376.6 cubic feet or 47 person

With only enough lifeboats to accommodate 1,178 of the maximum 3,547 person capacity of the Titanic, one of the flaws of the maiden voyage is obvious.

On the night of April 14, 1912 the Atlantic ocean was nearly smooth as glass, the water temperature near freezing. The largest passenger ship in history had nearly reached its New York City destination having sailed all the way from Southampton, England. Captain of the Titanic Edward Smith had received numerous warnings of iceberg sightings in the area, but proceeded full steam ahead toward his destination. At 23:40, while sailing about 400 miles south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, lookouts spotted a large iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic. What happened next was to become the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history-the sinking of the Titanic.

When the iceberg was spotted, Captain Smith immediately took a hard left in order to avoid the hulking chunk of ice. Despite the best efforts of the captain and crew, the Titanic received a glancing blow from the iceberg which caused its hull to buckle, flooding five watertight compartments.The Titanic was designed to be able to stay afloat with as many as four of the compartments flooded, but the five caused the ship's bulkheads to fall below the waterline. A distress signal was immediately sent out and the Titanic lifeboats were ordered to be deployed. Ships including the Mount Temple, Frankfurt, and the Titanic sister ship the Olympic were reported to be somewhere in the area, but too far away to rescue the sinking vessel.

Lights from another vessel could be seen in the distance, and although the identity of the ship remains a mystery, speculation is that it was the lights of the Californian or a sealer called the Sampson. The Californian had warned the Titanic’s wireless operator of ice ahead and received an angry response back about being too busy to listen. It is believed that the Californian had seen the distress rockets launched by the Titanic, but the Morse Lamp distress signals had not.

Many of the Titanic lifeboats were launched with nowhere near full capacity. Some were also lost in the commotion, falling into the Atlantic without anyone aboard. The protocol for boarding the lifeboats was a women and children first. First class passengers also had priority over the second and third class guests. Due to this fact, many of those who died on the Titanic were men from second and third class.

By 02:05 the ship’s bow was completely underwater and all but 2 Titanic lifeboats had been launched. By 02:10 the waterline had breached the deck of the boat and the last two lifeboats had drifted to sea, one upside down and the other filled with water. At 02:20, about three hours after impact, the Titanic sank into the ocean.

Of the 2,223 passengers on the Titanic, only 706 survived leaving 1,517 dead. The largest percentage of survivors were first class passengers, followed by second class, and finally third class. Most of the deaths were due to hypothermia in the freezing water, which would cause death in less than 15 minutes.6 of the 7 children in first class survived. All of the children in second class survived, whereas only 34 percent were saved in third class. 4 first class women died, 86 percent women survived in second class and less than half survived in third class. Overall, only 20 percent of the men survived, compared to nearly 75 percent of the women. First-class men were four times as likely to survive as second-class men, and twice as likely to survive as third class men.

Reports have also suggested that a greater percentage of American passengers made it out alive as opposed to British passengers. Many believe that the British of the time queued in order to reach the boats as opposed to elbowing their way onto the limited lifeboats as some Americans did. Some eyewitness reports speak of Captain Smith telling his fellow countrymen to 'Be British'.

Many speculations have been discussed involving the Titanic disaster as well as ways it could have been avoided. One of the obvious preventions to such a staggering loss of life would have been sufficient lifeboats for the passengers and crew, while other possible errors hinge on the navigation of the boat. Many believe that the Titanic's speed was chiefly to blame for the tragedy, as it was traveling at near maximum speed toward its destination. Some believe that a slower pace to New York Harbor may have allowed for time to avoid the iceberg. Another suggestion by experts is that the Titanic should have met the iceberg head on. The theory being that a crushing blow to the front of the massive liner would have flooded less compartments than the substantial gash across the side.