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 special guests were among the entertained audience members, showcasing that the Sci-Fi on the Rock offerings as well as the inherent charm of Newfoundland and Labrador made this event equally as entertaining to the guests themselves as it did to the patrons. Continuing again with its trend of breaking its own attendance numbers, Sci-Fi on the Rock 7 was met with a staggering increase in popularity. The Sci-Fi on the Rock International Film Festival entered its third year, and received some of its best submissions. Films were received from Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta, the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom.