HMS Polyphemus (1881) HMS Polyphemus (1881) The third HMS "Polyphemus" was a Royal Navy torpedo ram, serving from 1881 until 1903. A shallow-draft, fast, low-profile vessel, she was designed to penetrate enemy harbours at speed and sink anchored ships. Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby primarily as a protected torpedo boat, the ram was provided very much as secondary armament. It has been suggested that H. G. Wells’ fictional HMS "Thunder Child" from his novel "The War of the Worlds" may have been based on this ship, in part because he described "Thunder Child" as an ironclad torpedo ram, and "Polyphemus" was the only ship
Sci-Fi on the Rock place at the Holiday Inn in St. John's from April 24–26, 2015. Guests include Lynda Boyd from Supernatural, Sanctuary and Republic of Doyle, Frazer Hines who is better known as the Second Doctor's companion Jamie McCrimmon from Doctor Who, Peter Williams who played Apophis on , cosplayers Adam Smith and Kevin St. Pierre, with Fat Apollo returning to Emcee certain events. The event was again a great success. The crowd was so large that it was clear that Sci-Fi on the Rock had again outgrown a venue. This would be the last year that Sci-Fi on the Rock took place