The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

is a maritime museum tracing the international history of

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

development from the age of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

to the present day, and particularly the history of the Royal Navy Submarine Service from the navy's first submarine, '' Holland 1'', to the nuclear-powered ''Vanguard''-class submarines. The museum is located close to the former

shore establishment A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French Empire, ...

HMS ''Dolphin'', the home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service from 1904 until 1999.

History

The museum's collection originated as the Submarine Branch Collection in 1963, housed above St Ambrose Church in HMS ''Dolphin''. Few were aware of the existence of the museum, and those that were had limited access to the collection due to security considerations. The museum was officially recognised by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in 1967, along with the

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...

and the

Royal Marines Museum The Royal Marines Museum is a museum on the history of the Royal Marines from their beginnings in 1664 through to the present day. A registered charity, it is also a designated service museum under the terms of the National Heritage Act 198 ...

. The museum's first full-time curator was appointed the following year. The museum was officially registered as a charity in 1970, and has undergone significant development. In 1978 the museum was moved outside HMS ''Dolphin'', allowing full public access. It was at this time that the Royal Navy’s training and static display submarine, was donated to the museum. £410,000 was raised to pay for the submarine to be lifted out of the water and put in place at the museum. X24 view from side

The new museum complex opened in August 1981 with HMS ''Alliance'' as the principal exhibit. Over the years since, more submarines and submarine memorabilia have been added to the collection. In 1983 the museum gained a new display building and members of the public were allowed into HMS ''Alliance''. In 2001 the museum opened a climate-controlled building that houses . Visitors to the museum can tour HMS ''Alliance'' with a submariner guide, explore the interactive science gallery, step on board the Royal Navy’s first submarine ''Holland I'' (built in 1901), or wander around the museum exhibits.

Submarines and other submersibles

Turtle model at the Royal navy submarine museum

These submarines may be viewed on site *, a post-war ''Amphion''-class

hunter-killer Hunter-killer may refer to: Military terminology * Hunter-killer team, a team that separates the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" to two or more individuals * Hunter-killer armored-vehicle team, scout vehicles and tanks operating in concert as "hun ...

submarine, now raised out of the water on stilts * – the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

's first submarine *''X24'' – the only

X-craft The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo. Known individually as X-Craft, the vessels were designed to be towed to thei ...

to see service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and survive in an intact condition. * Biber (No.105) – German

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

. It was restored to working condition by apprentices from

Fleet Support Limited Fleet Support Limited (FSL) is a British company formed to run HMNB Portsmouth's Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation (FMRO) on a commercial basis. The FMRO was an agency of the Ministry of Defence responsible for repair and maintenance o ...

on a sandwich course in 2003 under the guidance of Ian Clark. The restoration featured on Channel 4’s salvage squad. *LR3 – a deep-sea survey and rescue

submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of ind ...

. *Maiale – An Italian

human torpedo Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use. ...

JIM suit The JIM suit is an atmospheric diving suit (ADS), which is designed to maintain an interior pressure of one atmosphere despite exterior pressures, eliminating the majority of physiological dangers associated with deep diving. Because there is no ...

– atmospheric diving suit *Cutlet – an early ROV * ''Turtle'' – a replica of the first submarine ever used in combat

Historic and Modern Galleries

Entitled "From Pirate to Peacekeeper", these include: *A large collection of submarines and

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es *the periscopes of HMS ''Conqueror'' of

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

fame through which one can see Portsmouth Harbour *Remembrance Corner, which commemorates those who devoted their lives to the Submarine Service *Submariners' medals, including the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

of Edward Courtney Boyle *Children's activities **Control Room trainer - Submarine command simulation

Other nearby historic naval exhibits

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is an area of HM Naval Base Portsmouth which is open to the public; it contains several historic buildings and ships. It is managed by the National Museum of the Royal Navy as an umbrella organization representing f ...

with its historic ships and the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth *

Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower Explosion! is the Museum of Naval Firepower situated in the former Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Priddy's Hard, in Gosport, Hampshire, England. It now forms part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. The museum includes a wide variety of e ...

References

External links