<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 22 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 45 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Total: </Td> <Td> 308 </Td> <Td> Total: </Td> <Td> 404 </Td> </Tr> <P> It was not until about 12: 45 a.m., an hour after Titanic struck the iceberg at 11: 40 p.m. on 14 April, that the first lifeboat was lowered into the sea . The boats were lowered in sequence, from the middle forward then aft, with First Officer William McMaster Murdoch, Third Officer Herbert Pitman and Fifth Officer Harold Lowe working on the starboard side, and Chief Officer Henry Tingle Wilde and Second Officer Charles Lightoller working on the port side, with the assistance of Captain Smith . The collapsible boats were dealt with last, as they could not be launched until the forward davits were clear . </P> <P> Smith had ordered his officers to put the "women and children in and lower away". However, Murdoch and Lightoller both interpreted the evacuation order differently; Murdoch interpreted it as women and children first, while Lightoller interpreted it as women and children only . Lightoller lowered lifeboats with empty seats if there were not any women and children waiting to board, while Murdoch only allowed a limited number of men to board if all the nearby women and children had already embarked . This had a significant effect on the survival rates of the men aboard Titanic, whose chances of survival came to depend on which side of the ship they tried to find lifeboat seats . </P>

When was the first lifeboat launched on the titanic