Explosion Museum

Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower is an award winning, hands on, interactive museum telling the story of naval warfare from the days of gunpowder to modern missiles. The museum is housed in a group of listed buildings that centre around the original powder magazine of 1777. These sit on the edge of a delightful camber basin on the western shore of Portsmouth Harbour, with views across to Portchester Castle, Whale Island and the Naval Base.

The museum includes a nationally significant collection of guns and naval ordnance, an original 18th century gunpowder vault and social history of the people who supplied the Navy from the days of Trafalgar to the Gulf War.

Sit and relax with a drink and a snack from the waterside coffee shop and enjoy the sun terrace on the eighteenth century Camber dock overlooking the magnificent views of Portsmouth Harbour. The waterside coffee shop offers a wide variety of hot and cold drinks including speciality coffees and herbal teas, our very own tasty torpedo baguettes, homemade bakes and pies, a fresh salad bar and our deliciously naughty cakes.