National Museum Royal Navy - Portsmouth

Discover how the Royal Navy helped shape the modern world through stories of courage and determination in our three exhibition galleries.

See treasures from the last 350 years like the Life Mask taken from Nelson’s face in 1800, the first Victoria Cross ever awarded in 1856, or a World War II Enigma Machine which helped win the Battle of the Atlantic. Discover the amazing stories of ordinary people who made the Navy's history, from the 19 year old fighting the slave trade off West Africa in the 1820s, to the first women who served at sea in the 1990s.

The National Museum Royal Navy Portsmouth is one of the country’s leading maritime museums.

• See, touch, hear and even smell the history of the Royal Navy through a rich collection of artefacts and award-winning permanent exhibitions.
• The Trafalgar Experience brings the Battle of Trafalgar vividly to life in a fantastic walk-through experience.
• Get hands on and test your skills. See if you can captain a 74 gun ship of the line and win fame and fortune, have a go on the latest Merlin Helicopter simulator and try to land safely on an aircraft carrier.

Part of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.