 | |
  Location within Southampton | |
| Location | Southampton, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°53′53″N1°23′35″W / 50.89793°N 1.39313°W /50.89793; -1.39313 |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Website | www |
Solent Sky (previously known as theSouthampton Hall of Aviation) is anaviation museum inSouthampton, England.
The museum depicts the history of aviation in Southampton, theSolent area andHampshire. There is a focus onSupermarine, the aircraft company based inWoolston, Southampton, and its most famous products, theSupermarine S.6 seaplane and theSupermarine Spitfire, designed by a team ledR. J. Mitchell. There is also coverage of theSchneider Trophy seaplane races, twice held atCalshot Spit, and theflying boat services which operated from the Solent.
The forerunner to the museum was a museum focusing onSupermarine set up in the 1970s in aNAAFI hut alongside Havelock Road.[1] In the latter part of 1982 decay of the buildings lead to the museum committee petitioning Southampton city council to build a new museum.[1] Construction of the current building began in 1983 and was designed by Barry Eaton, then the City Architect.[2] AShort Sandringham on loan from the science museum group was moved into the unfished building on 1 July 1983.[1] The new museum opened 26 May 1984.[3][1] On 25 November 2023 the fuselage of aBAC One-Eleven was moved to the exterior of the museum from Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre.[4] In November 2024 the museum was granted planning permission to build a connection between the aircraft fuselage and the main museum.[5]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Aircraft on display at the museum include:
The following engines can be seen at the museum:
TheLV 78 Calshot Spit is alightship built inSouthampton in 1914. It was decommissioned in 1987. Between 1988 and 2010, it was located at the entrance toOcean Village marina,[6] which formed a static attraction at the marina. This Trinity House navigation aid had guided ships entering Southampton Water from the western end of the Solent, coming around the low lying sand and shingleCalshot Spit. It was built in 1914 by J I Thornycroft shipyard in Southampton, and decommissioned in 1978. The lightship was removed on 3 November 2010 and taken to be restored at Trafalgar Dry Dock. The lightship was to become a "gateway attraction" at a new heritage museum called Aeronautica.[7] The plans for Aeronautica came to a halt in January 2012.[8] In December 2019 the Calshot Spit Lightship was transported to its new home at the Solent Sky Museum with plans to convert it into part of the museum's cafe.[9]
In 2017 an exhibition by the Hampshire Police and Fire Heritage Trust was added to the museum.[10] In September 2020, three ofSouthampton's former trams were moved to the museum site. There are plans for the trams to undergo restoration before going on public display.[11]
The work of Solent Sky is supported by aregistered charity, the R. J. Mitchell Memorial Museum Limited, whose objects are "to advance the education of the public in matters relating to aviation by establishing and maintaining a museum as a permanent memorial to R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Schneider Trophy S6B seaplane and the Spitfire."[12]
