Eighteen of Titanic’s lifeboats were successfully launched or used during the sinking. The ship carried 20 lifeboats in total, but the two collapsible craft known as A and B were not conventionally lowered into the sea by the davits.
The wooden boats and collapsibles that were launched were handled during a frantic sequence lasting from roughly 12:45 a.m. until about 2:05 a.m. Lifeboat 7 was first, while Collapsible D was the last boat successfully launched. By then, Titanic’s increasing list and sinking bow made the work extremely dangerous.
The 18 boats together had a rated capacity of 1,178 people, slightly more than half the estimated number aboard. Many were lowered far below capacity because passengers hesitated, some crew members feared the boats might buckle, and officers were following the order to place women and children first.
Collapsible A floated away from the partially submerged deck, while Collapsible B drifted free upside down after the ship sank. They were later used by survivors, but their unusual escape from the deck is why historical accounts generally distinguish 18 successfully launched boats from 20 carried aboard.