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-London night (with the aid of ice-cream and caffeine drinks). In late 2008, SCI-FI-LONDON hosted its very first Oktoberfest: a one-day festival featuring new films and all-nighters, held at its regular London venue: the Apollo Piccadilly Circus. A second Oktoberfest was held on 23/24 October 2009, with a third on the 14-16 October 2010, at The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the Royal Society and the Apollo Piccadilly Circus. On occasion, SCI-FI-LONDON has also hosted other events, either outside London, or at other times of the year. In 2005, SCI-FI-LONDON took its feature films, short films and all-nighters On Tour, to Edinburgh, Liverpool,