The moment a lifeboat from The Titanic was found – with three decomposed bodies onboard – has been shared on social media.
It’s now more than a century since the ocean liner – which had been hailed as « practically unsinkable » by its builders – hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic. However, the ill-fated ship continues to fascinate the public today.
However, the tragic story of one of its lifeboats – Collapsible A – has been all but forgotten. The raft saved the lives of more than a dozen passengers – but more than that died, during a desperate scramble for survival.
TikTok creator historyoflondon shared photos of the incident in a short video. In a voiceover, she says: « This photograph shows the chilling moment where one of the Titanic’s lifeboats was found almost a month after the ship sank, containing three decomposing bodies.
« Collapsible A was discovered over 200 miles from the site of the wreck, by the crew of RMS Oceanic. On board were the rotten bodies of two of the ship’s firemen, who had escaped the engine room – and a first-class passenger by the name of Thomas Beattie, who was still wearing his dinner jacket.
« This gruesome letter, penned by one of the passengers on the RMS Oceanic, details how the three bodies were then buried at sea. »
However, there is far more to this raft’s story. Collapsible A, also known as Collapsible 1, was an Engelhardt Type Collapsible raft.
It was stored above the Officers Quarters on the starboard side of the RMS Titanic, next to the forward funnel. It was the was the tenth lifeboat to be launched from the starboard side.
Officers Moody, Murdoch and Wilde removed the lifeboat from the roof at around 2:03am. However, they were not able to properly lower it and ready it for launch, due to how quickly the Titanic flooded and sank.
The raft eventually slid off the ship at around 2:07 AM. It’s believed there were 30 passengers on board, fighting for their lives – and battling to get as far from the sinking Titanic as possible.
However, amid the chaos, many passengers had fallen off the boat and were unable to get back on. Collapsible A’s sides had not been raised and quickly filled with icy seawater, says Titanic.fandom.
Between 17 and 25 people were said to have had climbed back onto the raft, by the time it was off the Titanic. The people onboard warded off nearby swimmers with oars in the water – because many in the boat had already died.
One survivor, August Wennerström recounted: « All the feeling had left us. If we wanted to know if we still had legs (or any other part) left, we had to feel down in the water with our hand.
« The only exercise we got was when someone gave up hope and died, whom we immediately threw overboard to give the live ones a little more space and at the same time lighten the weight of the boat.”
The survivors on Collapsible A were eventually rescued by Lifeboat 14 and Collapsible D, at around 4.30am. More than half of those onboard had died – with only 14 survivors rescued.
The raft was left to drift. It was found a month later by the White Star Liner RMS Olympic – with three bodies still onboard.
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