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 legs and attendees appreciated the extra space that the Sheraton Hotel provided. The vendor's area grew and more varied vendors and artists were able to attend. The attendance for SFotR 10 was well over 2250 people throughout the weekend. This was the first year that Sci-Fi on the Rock had a VIP pass. The change in location also gave Sandbox Gaming a bigger and more comfortable space at our convention for gaming. Sci-Fi on the Rock 11 was held at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland in St. John's from April 28–30, 2017. Guests included Doug Jones (actor), known from many films