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Collections and Conservation

The National Museum of the Royal Navy holds the most comprehensive collections of Royal Navy heritage in the UK and the largest collection of historic ships in Europe as well as many of the famous submarines and planes used by the Royal Navy.

It cares for a collection of over 2.5 million items which tell the epic story of the Royal Navy from its origins in 625AD to today.

Learn about the items in our collection and the work we do to preserve them for future generations.

Explore our online collection

Discover our incredible range of items across the key branches of the Royal Navy including personal archives, photographs, figureheads and much more

Research and Guides

Using our portal is simple. Simply search for a particular object or archival item in the available online catalogue. You can also search for key individuals or people who served in the Royal Navy.

We’re always grateful for items being given to the museum. Please complete our Donations Enquiry Form and submit to acquisitions@nmrn.org.uk

Our curatorial team are always here to speak with people who have donated their artefacts. With the changes taking place, it may take up to two months to respond to requests. If you would like to arrange to view specific items, please email collections.research@nmrn.org.uk or write to:

Collections Team, The National Museum of the Royal Navy, HM Naval Base (PP66), Portsmouth, PO1 3NH

We are always happy to discuss loans from our collection. We typically will lend to other museums and institutions who can provide public access and are able to satisfy the required security and display conditions. We are unable to lend items to individuals, families, or institutions or groups without adequate public access, security or display conditions. Loan requests take a minimum of 6 months to process, so please give us as much notice as possible when requesting items.

If you would like to view specific items, please email loans@nmrn.org.uk or write to:

Loans Panel, The National Museum of the Royal Navy, HM Naval Base (PP66), Portsmouth, PO1 3NH

Plan your visit

Plan your visit to the National Museum of the Royal Navy today

Book your tickets

View our collections online

Discover our incredible range of items across the key branches of the Royal Navy with our online Collections Portal

See the collection

School Visits

Find out how to plan a visit for your school and see our learning resources

Find out about school visits

Make a donation

Donate to the National Museum of the Royal Navy