About this museum
Southampton is the Spitfire's home town — R.J. Mitchell designed it here, Supermarine built it here, and the Luftwaffe flattened the factory for exactly that reason. Solent Sky packs the whole regional saga (26 manufacturers between 1910 and 1960) into one hall, with the flying-boat era given proper weight: you can board a Short Sandringham and inspect a bunk-equipped flying hotel from the age when Southampton Water was Britain's runway to the Empire.
Supermarine S.6A N248, the 1929 Schneider Trophy racer from the bloodline that begat the Spitfire — parked beneath its descendant for maximum genetic clarity.
- Supermarine S.6A N248, 1929 Schneider racer
- Short Sandringham "Beachcomber" flying boat
- Spitfire F.24, the final mark
- Saro SR.A/1 — the world’s only jet flying-boat fighter
Museum cat 'Scramble' has a fan club in the reviews. Compact but dense; combine with the city's Spitfire memorial trail.
“Solent Sky Museum is a very interesting place for anyone who enjoys aviation history.”— Sergejs, visitor report
Airframe checklist
Tick them off as you go. Identities are as held in the gazetteer survey — verify against the museum’s own labels if something has moved.
| Type | Identity | |
|---|---|---|
| Alvis Leonides Major | — | |
| Avro 504 J - Replica | — | |
| Bristol Proteus | — | |
| Bristol Siddeley Orpheus | — | |
| Britten-Norman BN-1 | — | |
| de Havilland Gipsy Major | — | |
| de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW Mk.2 - XJ571 | — | |
| de Havilland Tiger Moth | — | |
| de Havilland Vampire | — | |
| Folland Gnat | — | |
| Gnome Monosoupape | — | |
| Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 - Cockpit section. Modified to resemble Harrier FRS.1 | — | |
| Metrovick Beryl | — | |
| Mignet HM.14 Pou-du-Ciel | — | |
| Napier Gazelle | — | |
| Napier Lion | — | |
| Napier Naiad | — | |
| Napier Sabre | — | |
| Napier Scorpion | — | |
| Rolls-Royce Derwent | — | |
| Rolls-Royce Merlin | — | |
| Rolls-Royce/Continental 0-300 | — | |
| Saro Skeeter (x 2) | — | |
| Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 - TG263 | — | |
| Short Sandringham S.25/V - VH-BRC, Beachcomber | — | |
| Slingsby Grasshopper | — | |
| Slingsby Tandem Tutor | — | |
| SUMPAC | — | |
| Supermarine S.6 A - N248 , competed in the 1929 Schneider Trophy | — | |
| Supermarine Seagull - Nose section only | — | |
| Supermarine Spitfire F.24 - PK683 | — | |
| Supermarine Swift - Cockpit section | — | |
| Wight Quadruplane - Replica | — |
Inventory researched 2026-07-18: source 1. Aircraft move between sites; report corrections to the compiler.
Location & contact
- Address
- Albert Rd S, Southampton SO14 3FR
- Phone
- 023 8063 5830
- Website
- www.solentsky.org/
- Hours
- Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 12–5pm
(from your local clock — verify before travel) - Gazetteer
- SE-01 on the situation map