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 the day including the popular "Lightsaber Techniques", "Basic Horror Make-Up for Film and Television" and "Costume Designing". In addition, there were a number of sales-and-display tables, and a number of competitions such as Video Games, Model Building, Costume Contest, and others. Sci-Fi on the Rock also featured a canteen with Sci-Fi related food (i.e.: "The Kirk Burger"). Having been planned and put off within only a few months, and with little publicity, Sci-Fi on the Rock's first festival was a surprise success with almost 500 people attending, and was covered in many local media pages, as well as internet sites.