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 paintings and drawings related to naval aviation.  It is located on RNAS Yeovilton airfield, and the museum has viewing areas where visitors can watch military aircraft (especially helicopters) take off and land.  At the entrance to the museum are anchors from  and , fleet carriers which served the Royal Navy until the 1970s.
It is located  north of Yeovil, and  south of Bristol.

Exhibits

As of summer 2023 the museum has two temporary exhibitions: Flight of the Red Dragon, about King Charles's time within the Fleet Air Arm and an Falklands Exhibition which brings together five aircraft which served during the 1982 Falklands War, these are:

The museum's  main  display is divided into four areas:

Hall 1

This hall contains a display about the development of naval aviation from the early days of airships and fabric-covered wooden biplanes to modern jet aircraft and helicopters, including the front section of the fuselage of Short 184 8359, built locally by Westland Aircraft in Yeovil and flown at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 before being put on display at the Imperial War Museum, where it was damaged during the Second World War when the museum was hit by a bomb.  It is displayed in an unrestored condition.
 
Currently 2023 contains the following aircraft:

Hall 2

Mainly devoted to the Second World War, with a side room containing a Kamikaze exhibit, which contains a Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka II (BAPC 58), models of Japanese aircraft and final letters from Kamikaze pilots. Two aircraft from the Korean War are also displayed. By the entrance to Hall 3 there is a collection of models of British aircraft carriers, illustrating the history of aircraft carrier design.

The aircraft on display include:

Hall 3

Improved for 2023: Instead of a traditional museum hall, the whole hall has been converted into a mock-up of the fleet carrier  as it would have appeared in the 1970s with the inclusion of historical aircraft such as the Supermarine Seafire. The entrance to this hall is through a converted vibrating Wessex helicopter from Hall 2.  The hall itself is a simulation of a section of the flight deck of HMS Ark Royal.  A large screen shows historical carrier based information. There is also a series of rooms simulating the carrier's island with projections and a simulated lift ride to the top of the mock carrier. 

The aircraft include:

Hall 4

The aircraft on display:

Other displays
In addition to the four main exhibition halls, there are a number of smaller displays. These include:
 "Barracuda Live - The Big Rebuild", showing the active restoration of Fairey Barracuda DP872
 Battle of Taranto, the Fleet Air Arm's most celebrated exploit in World War II. The display includes a Fairey Swordfish, which can also be seen from the link between halls 1 and 2.
 "Merlin Experience", which explains modern anti-submarine techniques.
 "Operation Skua", a reconstruction of the recovery of Blackburn Skua L2940
 "Pioneers to Professionals: Women of the Royal Navy"
 "Saved! 100 years of Search and Rescue" featuring three helicopters and a new soft play area
 "Welcome Gallery"

Reserve Collection
The museum's collection includes a number of aircraft which are currently being restored and are not on display, although public access is allowed at least once a year. These are housed in Cobham Hall, a climate controlled building across the road from the museum.
 
Aircraft include:

Engines on display

The museum possesses a number of aero engines located throughout the halls.
Alvis Leonides
Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah
Bristol Centaurus
Bristol Mercury
Bristol Siddeley BS.100
Clerget 9B
Bristol Siddeley Pegasus
de Havilland Gipsy Major
de Havilland Gipsy Queen
Rolls-Royce Avon
Rolls-Royce Nene
Rolls-Royce Merlin
Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593
Sunbeam Gurkha
Wright R-1820 Cyclone

Other activities

Restoration
The museum also carries out various restoration projects. the last project was a Corsair KD 431 which in the summer of 2006 was unveiled as it would have appeared in 1944. In 2023 the projects underway are for a Fairey Barracuda and a Gloster Sea Gladiator. Visitors can see into (but not enter) the restoration workshop between Hall 3 and Hall 4.

Archives
The Fleet Air Arm Museum is the home to an archive of material related to naval aviation.

Visitor facilities

The museum's shop has the most extensive selection of naval merchandise in the area, including various themed books and documentaries such as Sailor.

There is an outside adventure playground for children in the museum's grounds and two cafés.

See also

Naval aviation museums

 Australia - Fleet Air Arm Museum (Australia), Australian museum of naval aviation, Nowra, New South Wales
 Canada - Shearwater Aviation Museum, Canadian naval aviation museum, Sheerwater, Nova Scotia.
 Germany - Aeronauticum, German naval aviation museum, Nordholz
 India - Naval Aviation Museum (India), Indian naval aviation museum, Goa, India
 USA - National Naval Aviation Museum, United States museum of naval aviation, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
 USA - Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, United States museum of naval aviation RDT&E, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Lexington Park, Maryland 

British military aviation museums
 Army Flying Museum
 Imperial War Museum:
 Imperial War Museum Duxford and  Imperial War Museum North
 REME Museum
 Royal Air Force Museum Cosford and Royal Air Force Museum London

Other
List of aviation museums
List of museums in Somerset

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Aerospace museums in England
Military aviation museums in England
Naval museums in England
Museums in Somerset
Fleet Air Arm