🚢 Titanic’s Overturned Collapsible Lifeboat B – A Desperate Battle for Survival
📌 Collapsible Lifeboat B drifted upside down after Titanic’s sinking, carrying Second Officer Charles Lightoller, wireless operator Harold Bride, and teenager Jack Thayer. Learn how these men endured the freezing Atlantic, battled exhaustion, and helped rewrite Titanic’s history.
The Sinking of the Titanic. A Sequence of Sketches by Jack Thayer, a first-class passenger, and a survivor of the Titanic disaster. The then 17-year-old survived the sinking hanging on to the overturned Collapsible Lifeboat B later being picked up by Lifeboat 12. Jack, along with Harold Bride, Colonel Archibald Gracie, Charles Lightoller, and the chief baker, Charles Joughin managed to balance on the overturned boat for some hours before he was picked up. He was the only survivor to indicate that the ship broke into two pieces before sinking, his version, sketched out by him on 15 April 1912, confirmed by oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard in 1985. Public Domain Image. GGA Image ID # 10ef01cc8a
🚢 The Harrowing Tale of Collapsible Lifeboat B – Titanic’s Overturned Refuge
🔍 Overview: A Desperate Struggle for Survival on an Overturned Lifeboat
Collapsible Lifeboat B stands out as one of the most chaotic and desperate survival stories from the Titanic disaster. Unlike traditional lifeboats, this Engelhardt collapsible boat was never launched properly. Instead, it was washed off Titanic’s deck upside down as the ship broke apart and sank. With no time to be boarded properly, survivors clung to the overturned boat in the freezing Atlantic for hours.
📌 Why is Collapsible Lifeboat B historically significant?
✔ It was one of the last ‘lifeboats’ to leave Titanic—but in a capsized state.
✔ Among the survivors was Titanic’s Second Officer Charles Lightoller, who later became a key witness in investigations.
✔ Jack Thayer, the 17-year-old survivor who clung to it, was one of the first to confirm Titanic broke apart before sinking—decades before it was proven.
✔ Survivors balanced precariously on the boat all night, battling exhaustion and the elements.
✔ Chief Baker Charles Joughin, famous for surviving the freezing water due to alcohol consumption, was among them.
📌 For teachers, students, genealogists, and historians, this lifeboat’s story offers insight into the final, desperate moments of Titanic’s passengers and crew, highlighting both the chaos of the sinking and the will to survive.
Facts About Lifeboat B (LB-B)
Collapsible Lifeboat B, floated off upturned at 2:20 am, located on the officers' Quarters, port side, with 28 occupants comprised of 3 First Class, 5 Third Class, 1 Deck Officer, and 19 Crew Members (All Men). The boat was essentially capsized.
Overturned Engelhardt Lifeboat. The Truth About the Titanic (1913) p. 110. GGA Image ID # 10716a2d9c
Interesting Discoveries About Collapsible Lifeboat B
- Titanic's hull begins to break up and collapsible lifeboat B washes off the deck before anyone can get into it.
- Bride climbs to the roof of the officer's quarters and assists with launching collapsible Lifeboat B—Phillips disappears aft).
- Only those aboard collapsible boat B had accurate news. Wireless operator harold Bride could tell them that the Baltic, the Olympic, and the Carpathia had replied to the Titanic's distress calls.
- Wireless Operator Harold Bride described how he was washed overboard and somehow ended up underneath collapsible B
- Collapsible boats A and B were stored on top of the officer's quarters.
- The men who had taken refuge on the overturned collapsible lifeboat were rescued, including Second Officer Lightoller and the passengers.
First Class Passengers - LB-B
- Mr. Algernon Henry Wilson Barkworth, (47) Hessle, East Yorkshire, England, UK [LB-B]
- Colonel Archibald Gracie IV (53) Washington, D.C., US [LB-B]
- Mr. John Borland "Jack" Thayer III (17) Haverford, Pennsylvania, US [LB-B]
Third Class Passengers - LB-B
- Mr. Eugene Patrick Daly, (29) New York City [LB-B]
- Mr. Edward Arthur Dorking, (18) Oglesby, Illinois, US [LB-B]
- Mr. Albert Johan Moss, (29) New York City [LB-B]
- Mr. Patrick O'Keefe, (22) New York City [LB-B]
- Mr. Victor Francis Sunderland, (20) Cleveland, Ohio, US [LB-B]
Officers - LB-B
- Sub-Lieutenant Charles Herbert Lightoller, RNR (38) Second Officer [LB-B]
Engineering Crew - LB-B
- Mr. Ernest Frederick Allen, (24) Trimmer [LB-B]
- Mr. Charles W.N. Fitzpatrick, (30) Mess Steward [LB-B]
- Mr. A. Hebb, (20) Trimmer [LB-B]
- Walter Hurst, (27) Fireman/Stoker [LB-B]
- Mr. Charles E. Judd, (32) Fireman/Stoker [LB-B]
- Mr. William Charles Lindsay, (30) Fireman/Stoker [LB-B]
- Mr. Frank Archibald Robert Mason, (32) Fireman/Stoker [LB-B]
- Mr. James McGann, (29) Trimmer [LB-B]
- Mr. William Murdoch, (34) Fireman/Stoker [LB-B]
- Mr. John O'Connor, (25) Trimmer [LB-B]
- Mr. George Prangnell, (31) Greaser [LB-B]
- Mr. Henry Senior, (31) Fireman/Stoker [LB-B]
- Mr. Eustace Philip Snowberger, (21) Trimmer [LB-B]
Victualling Crew - LB-B
- Mr. Harold Sydney Bride, (22) Assistant Telegraphist [LB-B]
- Mr. John Collins, (17) Scullion [LB-B]
- Mr. Sidney Edward Daniels, (18) Steward [LB-B]
- Mr. Charles John Joughin, (32) Chief Baker [LB-B]
- Mr. Isaac Hiram Maynard, (31) Entre Cook [LB-B]
- Mr. Thomas Whiteley, (18) First Class Saloon Steward [LB-B]
The End of the Titanic’s Captain. The Moment Before He Said That He Would Follow His Ship. He Took off His Lifebelt and Went Down, Captain Smith of the Ill-Fated Liner Handing a Baby to Those Aboard an Overturned Lifeboat (Collapsible Lifeboat B). Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl, One of Our Special Artists in New York, From Material Supplied by Mr. Henry Senior, One of the Crew Survivors. the Illustrated London News, 18 May 1912. Colorized by GG Archives. GGA Image ID # 2229e3948e
About the Painting "The End of the Titanic's Captain
Mr. H. Senior, One of the Crew of the “Titanic,” Who Went Down With the Vessel, Swam for Half an Hour, Then Clambered on a Floating Cabin Door, Which Sustained Him for an Hour or so, and Was Then Pulled Aboard an Overturned Lifeboat, Which Was Floating Bottom Upward With a Lot of People on It, Said of the Heroic End of Captain Smith, the Ill-Fated Master of the Liner:
“The Mate, the Captain, the Second Officer, and Myself, All Happened to Be Together on the Boat-Deck. an Italian Woman Was Standing Near Us With Two Babies, and Another Baby Was Running About. the Captain Took One Baby, I Took One of the Italian Woman’s Babies, and She Kept the Other.
When I Came Up, the Baby I Had in My Arms Was Dead From the Shock of the Water." Later, He Said of His Being Pulled Aboard the Overturned Lifeboat: “the Captain Had Been Able to Reach This Boat and Had Handed Over the Baby, Which Died Very Shortly Afterwards.
They Had Pulled Him Onto This Boat, but He Slipped off Again, Telling Them to Let Me Go, Saying That It Was Useless and That He Would Follow After the Ship. He Had Been Resting on a Life Buoy in the Water and Had a Lifebelt on.
He Took the Lifebelt off and Went Down on the Overturned Boat in Question. Amongst Others. Mr. Charles Lightoller. the Second Officer of the “Titanic”, Colonel Archibald Gracie, and Mr. J. B. Thayer, Jr., All Had Gone Down With the Liner and Had Come To the Surface Again.
Legend For Survivor or Lost Passengers and Crew Members
- LB-# or A-D - Survivor on Lifeboat 1-16 or Collapsible Lifeboat A-D
- P-BNR - Perished, Body Not Recovered or Body Not Identified
- MB – CS Mackay-Bennett (bodies 1–306)
- M – CS Minia (bodies 307–323)
- MM – CGS Montmagny (bodies 326–329)
- A – SS Algerine (body 330)
- O – RMS Oceanic (bodies 331–333)
- I – SS Ilford (body 334)
- OT – SS Ottawa (body 335)
Numbers 324 and 325 were unused, and the six bodies buried at sea by the Carpathia also went unnumbered. Several recovered bodies were unidentifiable and thus not all numbers are matched with a person.
Upon recovery, the bodies of 209 identified and unidentified victims of the sinking were brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Of those, 121 were taken to the non-denominational Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 59 were repatriated, 19 were buried in the Roman Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery, and 10 were taken to the Jewish Baron de Hirsch Cemetery. The bodies of the remaining recovered victims were either delivered to family members or buried at sea.
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🌟 Most Engaging & Noteworthy Content
📌 Titanic’s Breaking Apart & the Capsized Lifeboat
📌 Unlike other lifeboats, Collapsible B was never lowered—it was washed away when Titanic’s hull split apart.
📜 Why This Story Matters:
✔ Only a few survivors, including Jack Thayer, correctly recalled the ship breaking in two.
✔ It became the last hope for many stranded passengers in the freezing Atlantic.
✔ Its survivors endured one of the longest and most dangerous waits before rescue.
🚢 A lifeboat born from Titanic’s final destruction.
📌 The Fight to Stay Afloat on an Overturned Boat
📌 With no room inside, survivors had to balance on the upturned lifeboat, with freezing water around them.
📜 Why This Story Matters:
✔ It tested human endurance—men huddled together to survive the bitter cold.
✔ One wrong move could send someone tumbling into the sea.
✔ Wireless operator Harold Bride was trapped underneath and nearly drowned.
🚢 A terrifying balancing act for survival.
📌 The Heroic Leadership of Charles Lightoller
📌 Titanic’s Second Officer, Charles Lightoller, took charge of the lifeboat and ensured order among the men.
📜 Why This Story Matters:
✔ Lightoller was the highest-ranking officer to survive Titanic.
✔ His leadership helped keep many men alive despite near-hopeless conditions.
✔ He later testified in inquiries and became a key figure in Titanic’s legacy.
🚢 A lifeboat led by Titanic’s last surviving officer.
📌 The Legendary Survival of Chief Baker Charles Joughin
📌 Joughin survived hours in the freezing Atlantic before clambering onto the lifeboat—reportedly aided by the alcohol in his system.
📜 Why This Story Matters:
✔ One of the most incredible individual survival stories of Titanic.
✔ Joughin stayed warm by continuously paddling in the water before finding refuge.
✔ His story became one of the most widely shared survivor accounts.
🚢 Whiskey, willpower, and sheer luck—Joughin’s incredible endurance.
📌 Jack Thayer’s Drawings Confirmed Titanic’s Breakup
📌 Teenage survivor Jack Thayer clung to Collapsible B for survival—he later sketched the Titanic breaking apart, a fact confirmed in 1985.
📜 Why This Story Matters:
✔ One of the earliest eyewitness accounts of Titanic’s actual sinking sequence.
✔ Decades before Dr. Robert Ballard’s discovery, Thayer’s sketches described the breakup of Titanic.
✔ A testament to the power of survivor testimony in historical accuracy.
🚢 A survivor’s memory that reshaped Titanic history.
📚 Relevance for Different Audiences
📌 🧑🏫 For Teachers & Students:
✔ An excellent example of survival psychology in extreme conditions.
✔ Explores how individuals respond to crisis.
✔ Demonstrates the flaws in Titanic’s lifeboat preparedness.
📌 📖 For Historians & Maritime Researchers:
✔ Offers insight into Titanic’s structural failure and sinking.
✔ Confirms the testimony of survivors regarding the ship breaking in two.
✔ One of the most chaotic and tragic lifeboat survival accounts.
📌 🧬 For Genealogists & Family Historians:
✔ **Notable survivors include Titanic’s highest-ranking surviving officer, Charles
ightoller, and renowned survivor Jack Thayer.
✔ A rare case where an upturned lifeboat managed to save multiple lives.
✔ Features survivors from various social classes, offering diverse ancestry connections.
🌟 Final Thoughts: The Lifeboat That Became a Floating Platform for Survival
📌 Collapsible Lifeboat B’s story is one of human resilience, leadership, and Titanic’s final moments.
✔ Survivors clung to the upturned boat for hours in freezing water.
✔ Second Officer Lightoller maintained order, preventing panic.
✔ Jack Thayer’s sketches of Titanic’s breakup were later proven correct.
✔ Chief Baker Joughin’s incredible survival story remains legendary.
🚢 An overturned boat, an impossible fight for survival, and a chapter of Titanic history that still amazes us today.
