Wednesday, October 19, 2011


I found very weird that the percent of saved children third class was so small, and that the percentage of saved men third class was twice bigger than men second class.
you can find several explanations on
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/titanic.html

CLASS DISTINCTIONS

First Class women and children were about 6% of those aboard the Titanic, but constituted 20% of the survivors. In contrast, steerage passengers were a third of all aboard, but only one fourth of those saved.

  • First Class suites, berths, and social rooms were located principly on the center of the ship on decks A, B, and C (or more poetically the Boat Deck, Promenade Deck and Bridge Deck), with additional cabins on decks D and E. They had either immediate or easy access to the Boat Deck where all of the lifeboats were housed. Lifeboats numbered 1 through 8, which were the first to be launched, were located in the fore of the ship, the First Class Deck. The numbers indicate that First Class Passengers utilized any lifeboat available without compunction.
  • Second Class rooms were mostly located on decks D and E, with some on lower decks F and G. Where Second Class passengers were on the same deck as First Class passengers, the Second Class passengers were further aft. Some Second Class passengers would have had easy access through a stairway to the stern of the boat deck (Second Class Deck) where lifeboats numbered 9 through 16 were located. More by cultural than physcial barriers, the Second Class passengers would have been prohibited from entering the First Class section of the Boat Deck.
  • Steerage passengers had rooms on lower decks F and G, with some exceptions, and no direct or immediate access to lifeboats on the boat deck. Many steerage passengers who survived did so only by reaching the last of the lifeboats that were launched. Annie Kelly, an Irish steerage passenger, said that the stewards not only did not wake the steerage passengers with an alarm but told alarmed third class passenger who came up to the deck to go back down as there was no danger
  • According to several writers and historians, indifference toward steerage passengers and resignation by many steerage passengers may have been more responsible for the low percentages of steerage passenger survival than physical barriers.
  • At least three of the four women in First Class who perished had the opportunity to board a lifeboat but elected to stay with their husbands and/or family. When they initially made their decisions, most passengers still believed that the Titanic would and could not sink and may have been fearful for the safety of the lifeboats and the boarding process itself.
  • A "Women and children only" rule was applied on the port side of the ship
  • Over half of the women in steerage perished.
  • Less than a third of the children from steerage survived.
  • Even though some men had no trouble boarding lifeboats, there was a report that the wealthiest man on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor, attempted to board the lifeboat with his wife, but was rebuffed by Second Officer Lightoller, who told him, "Women and children, only, sir."

    • LIFEBOATS

    Half the lifeboats, and all of the first six launched, contained only passengers from First Class, plus crew members to do the work.
    The total capacity of the combined total of lifeboats was rated at 1,178. still, the number of saved was 711, number of lost 1513 !!!
    14 year old Lucile Carter in First Class was considered a child, but a 14 year old Annie McGowan in Steerage was considered to be an adult.
    All of these early launched "First Class" lifeboats were notorious for being launched at less than half capacity. Two of the earliest launched lifeboats, 7 and 1, had more men than women aboard.
    It did make a difference whether a passenger was on the port or starboard side of the ship, since the crew loading passengers on the port side did refuse to allow men to board.
    Dr. Washington Dodge reported that until the sixth or seventh lifeboat was launched (by which time no Second or Third Class passengers had been put aboard), there was no general awareness that the Titanic would sink. However, evidence is clear that the chief officers of the Titanic knew before the first lifeboat was launced that the Titanic would sink, but did not take measures to ensure that all boats were adequately filled.
    Although lifeboat 4 picked up six or eight passengers from the water and D hauled in at least one man before they distanced themselves from the ship, the only lifeboat to go back to try to rescue people after the Titanic went under was 14, not a "First Class" lifeboat. It was only able to pick up three or four passengers from the water.

    ADULT MALE PASSENGERS

    Men in Second Class had no physical barriers to pass, so honor and resignation may have reigned high. However, more compelling than a sense of good manners and gentlemanliness was probably the stigma of shame and cowardice that would be attached to many adult males who had the audacity to survive the sinking. As a result, adult male survivors had compelling reasons for their defensiveness and inventions of excuses for boarding a lifeboat.
    A high percentage of the men in steerage who got to lifeboats reached them only by leaping onto them after they were launched or by scrambling aboard the two emergency lifeboats as they floated off moments before the Titanic finally went down
    Mine conclusions:
    1. there could be saved at least double
    2. the rule children & women first wasn't applyed for third class
    3. a lot of lifeboats were underloaded, that explains the big number of saved men from the third class, who having no chance to get a place in a lifeboat, they jumped into the water, and then got a place into a lifeboat
    4. only one lifeboat took people from the sea
    5. Egoism and differences of class explain the low number of survivors


    # posted by dan : 10:10 AM  0 Comments

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