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 Valley Con raised in the charity auction for the Shriners Hospital for Children. Sci-Fi Valley Con, Part 3 was held on June 27–29, 2014 in Altoona, Pennsylvania at the Jaffa Shrine Center. Unlike the previous year, the convention utilized both floors of the venue for exhibitors and guests. In addition, it was the year the con debuts their first official convention vehicle; which was a Jurassic Park Jeep Wrangler (#12). It was built and funded entirely by the Sci-Fi Valley Con's promoting company, Assett Conventions LLC. The 2014 show also featured several other movie cars, such as; the Back to the Future