8. Lightoller dispatched several boats which were only partially filled
Lightoller interpreted the phrase “women and children first” to mean only women and children were to be loaded into the boats. The boats were nearly all lowered into the water under Lightoller’s supervision only partially filled. He later explained that he did so because he was unsure whether the davits could support the weight of the fully-loaded boats, and that he intended to fill them at the waterline using the ship’s gangway. When the boats hit the water, the passengers aboard quickly rowed away from the sinking ship, ignoring shouted orders to return for additional passengers. Only one male passenger was allowed to board a lifeboat under Lightoller’s supervision.
Lightoller found about two dozen men in Lifeboat 2, already aboard when he arrived, and he ordered them out of the boat at gunpoint (the gun was unloaded). Lifeboat 2 was later reported as leaving the ship with only 17 passengers aboard, though it could have accommodated 40. As the final boats bore away from the ship, which was by then sinking more rapidly, he attempted to release the collapsible boat stored above the officer’s quarters. He succeeded in freeing collapsible B, which floated away upended, before diving into the sea as the stern of the sinking liner rose into the air.