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In addition to a special exhibit featuring Lord Nelson, the museum includes a history of the Royal Navy.
Storyboards, audio-visual presentations, and artefacts tell the story. Many individual stories reveal elements of Navy life. Special exhibits draw attention to the role of women in the Royal Navy.
The museum is located in the Historic Dockyards at Portsmouth.
The National Museum of the Royal Navy presents the Battle of Jutland covering a 36-hour period (website).
The battle involved 250 ships and 100,000 men. The audio-video presentations, storyboards, and artefacts present the historical context, timeline, and personal stories to make the events come alive.
The Battle began in the afternoon of 31 May, 2016 off the coast of Denmark's North Sea.
Following the battle, both the Germans and the British claimed victory; however, the larger British fleet remianed in control of the High Seas.
As of this writing in 2017, the exposition is scheduled for a limited time- until 2019.
Allow about 1-2 hours to walk through the presentation.
The odd-shaped presentation screens and position of the speakers can interfere with a straightforward telling of the story. To get more out of the presentation, it might be helpful to read a summary of the battle.
I am glad I saw the presentation but it is not the best exhibit at the Historic Dockyard.
A tour of the harbour is included with a multi-attraction ticket to the Historic Dockyard. I recommend taking the tour early on to get an overview of the area and introductory information about this busy port.
In addition to the ships, which are amongst the attractions, there are various Royal Navy and other ships in the harbour. I'll include a few examples from my April 2017 visit.
I consider the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth to be an outstanding experience and good value. You will need a few days to enjoy the many attractions.
Because there are so many attractions, I recommend viewing the website and planning a visit. I also suggest the harbour tour early on to get an overview with commentary. Sit on the starboard side for most of the commentary.
Video of boating in front of Action Stations, which is Boathouse 6.
Tips and Suggestions
The multiple attractions ticket purchased online is the best value. I got mine on the morning of the first day. Show the confirmation email to collect the ticket and keep it handy to show at each attraction. There is a shorter line for returning visitors.
Toilets are in building 7 and elsewhere but not in the Visitors Centre.
There are several restaurants or cafes in the different attractions as well as places for a picnic.
The gift shops offer both educational and other souvenirs-- some made outside the UK.
The dockyards are family friendly with many activities for children. I saw a number of care providers/ parents and children interacting. Some locations even had board games.
A few activities might scare young children e.g. blood, amputations, explosions.
Photos are permitted in most places but flash is often not permitted.
Some attractions require bending over to enter or negotiate small spaces e.g., in Submarines.
The museum located in Gosport takes visitors on a tour of naval weaponry housed within buildings dating to the 18th century.
I visited as part of a mulsti-attraction ticket to the Historic Dockyards in Portsmouth. The included waterbus service from the Dockyards adds to the experience, which affords pleasant views of Portsmouth Harbour.
Inside you will see a variety of weapons along with storyboards and audiovisual presentations. There are also interactive exhibits.
A variety of naval guns are outside the complex.
There is a cafe and outdoor tables for picnics. And places to view the harbour.
Learn more about the museum at their website http://www.explosion.org.uk/
HMS 33 is the only British war ship from the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign. As you enter the ship at the Historic Dockyard, you experience a sight and sound experience of war--including the perspectives of those on board.
Following the audio-visual presentation, there's opportunity to inspect the insides and topside, which includes some re-creations of shiplife.
The ship is a small, spartan war machine- home to 72 crew for more than three years.
The tour is worth including in a visit to the Historic Dockyards in Portsmouth.
Learn more at the website https://www.nmrn.org.uk/exhibitions-projects/monitor-hms-m33
After visiting the star attraction, HMS Alliance, outside the submarine museum, it's worth having a look at the history of submarines inside the museum.
The exhibits and storyboards depict the progress made from small and simple underwater craft to modern stealth machines capable of quick, silent, moves far below the waves.
I visited as part of a multi-attraction ticket. A waterbus provides transportation between the museum and the main dockyard buildings.
See the website for more details. https://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/
I toured the HMS Alliance at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport. A tour of the submarine provides insight into nearly three decades of this aspect of defense from the end of WW II into the Cold War era. The Alliance was commissioned into service in 1947.
I was fortunate to have conversations with two retired submariners who served on the Alliance--one a cook, the other an electrician.
Our tour began by the forward torpedoes.
Forward torpedo area
and moved through dining and sleeping areas to the control room.
Breakfast
Before exiting, the guides explain the engine room, aft torpedoes, and method of escape from a submarine.
Submariner explains how to escape
Even a short tour can give many a sense of claustrophobia as one tourist felt the need to retreat after a few minutes. As fellow tourists impede movement its easy to get a sense that not all humans could likely adapt to this underwater environment beneath the waves with human and mechanical sounds and smells.
The Alliance and the nearby museum are worth a visit as part of the Historic Dockyards multi-attraction ticket.
HMS Warrior 1860 is a restored mid-nineteenth century warship designed to compete with progress in the French fleet. It is the first Royal Navy ship with an iron hull and a symbol of pride in Queen Victoria's fleet.
The ship was powerered by both sail and steam.
The figurehead is modeled after the original.
Some lived in fine quarters.
The tour offers an in depth look at the components of a warship and a glimpse of life on board. The staff answer questions and add to the experience.
Her firepower was greater than any other ships of her era carrying both 25 68-pounders and 10 110-pounders.
On her first sailing, the crew numbered about 700.
Laundry- Geoff W Sutton 2017
I consider this a very good experience if you like ships and a bit of history.
There's some climbing.
It is family friendly.
It is a good value when combined with a multi-attraction ticket.
