Aluminum superstructures and steel hull connections are of fundamental importance in ships. This study regards the buckling analysis of explosion welded joints, made of three layers (ASTM A516 low carbon steel, pure aluminium, A5086 aluminium alloy) and used in ship structures. Experimental tests were carried out on explosion welded specimens. The Digital Image Correlation technique was applied during the tests for the detection of displacement and strain fields. A theoretical analysis, considering the different materials was also performed. Furthermore, a non-linear finite element analysis, considering the different mechanical properties of the explosive welded joint, was performed and was validated by means of the experimental results.