About
Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower occupies one of Britain's most atmospheric and significant industrial heritage sites — the historic armaments depot at Priddys Hard, Gosport, established in the 1770s to store gunpowder and ammunition for the Royal Navy's vast fleet. The Grade I listed Victorian magazine buildings, with their distinctive earth-banked walls and underground passages designed to contain accidental explosions, provide a uniquely dramatic setting for one of the country's most comprehensive collections of naval ordnance.
The museum's collections trace the complete history of naval firepower from the age of black powder and cannon to the guided missile era of the late twentieth century — a sweep of over four centuries during which the firepower of warships transformed out of all recognition. Cannons and powder kegs give way to rifled guns and explosive shells, which in turn give way to mines, torpedoes, rockets, and finally guided missiles with computer-controlled targeting systems. The collection makes this technological evolution tangible and comprehensible in a way that no purely textual account could achieve.
Among the most impressive exhibits are the torpedo and mine collections — the largest and most comprehensive of any museum in the United Kingdom. Enormous sea mines, some recovered from the seabed, sit alongside the sleek metallic forms of torpedoes in sizes ranging from First World War aircraft-dropped weapons to the massive homing torpedoes of the Cold War. Rockets, missiles, shells of every calibre, depth charges, bombs, and vast quantities of associated equipment complete a collection that is genuinely world-class.
The museum site itself is as compelling as the collections. The Victorian magazine buildings — some of Britain's finest examples of military industrial architecture — were specifically designed to minimise the risk of catastrophic explosions. Thick earthen banks surround the brick structures, vaulted underground passages run between them, and the whole complex is laid out with military precision. Walking through Priddys Hard feels like stepping back into a working Victorian naval armaments facility, even as the modern exhibits explain the technology that filled these buildings.
Situated across Portsmouth Harbour from the world-famous Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Explosion! is an ideal companion visit for those exploring Hampshire's extraordinary concentration of naval heritage sites.
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Highlights
Priddys Hard: Georgian Armaments Depot
The museum occupies one of Britain's most remarkable and intact military industrial heritage sites.
Priddys Hard was established as a Royal Navy gunpowder and ammunition depot in the 1770s and remained in service until the late twentieth century. The Grade I listed magazine buildings — with their characteristic earthwork banks, vaulted brick passages, and carefully separated storage structures designed to contain accidental detonations — represent outstanding Georgian and Victorian military engineering.
Walking through the site gives a powerful sense of the logistical scale required to keep the Royal Navy armed and dangerous.
Mine and Torpedo Collection
The museum holds the largest and most comprehensive collection of sea mines and torpedoes of any museum in the United Kingdom — a genuinely world-class accumulation of naval ordnance spanning over a century of development.
Sea mines range from spherical contact mines of the First World War to sophisticated pressure and acoustic mines of the Cold War era. Torpedoes span from early compressed-air weapons to the massive homing torpedoes of modern submarines.
The sheer variety, size, and visual drama of these exhibits is extraordinary, and the technical development from one generation to the next is clearly explained.
From Gunpowder to Guided Missiles
The museum's core narrative traces the complete history of naval firepower from black powder cannon through the age of ironclad battleships to the guided missile age.
The progression from simple explosive charge to electronically guided precision weapon is displayed through original artefacts at every stage — cannon balls and powder cartridges give way to armour-piercing shells, which give way to rockets and depth charges, which give way to surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles.
No other museum in Britain places this complete technological evolution in a single coherent narrative.
Victorian Magazine Buildings
The Victorian-era magazine buildings at Priddys Hard are extraordinary survivals of military industrial architecture at its most purposeful. Designed by Royal Engineers working to strict safety principles, each building was earthwork-protected, lime-washed for cleanliness, and fitted with specialised fittings designed to prevent sparks.
Workers wore soft-soled shoes and used wooden tools to reduce ignition risk.
The buildings today retain much of their original character and equipment, allowing visitors to understand both the sophistication of Victorian military engineering and the daily working lives of the men who stored and prepared the Navy's ammunition.
Collections
From Gunpowder to Guided Missiles
The core permanent exhibition tracing the complete history of naval firepower from black powder cannon through to late twentieth century guided missile systems.
Mines and Torpedoes: The Underwater Threat
The UK's largest collection of sea mines and torpedoes, tracing the development of underwater naval weapons over more than a century.
Priddys Hard: Working the Depot
The story of the historic armaments depot, the Victorian magazine buildings, and the workers who stored and prepared the Royal Navy's ammunition over two centuries.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.