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Thunder Child was a Royal Navy torpedo ram Battle Ship famous for sacrificing itself in order to protect the evacuation fleet on the Essex coast. Her valiant efforts

resulted in the destruction of two tripods and allowed the evacuation fleet to escape, including the paddle-steamer carrying the narrator's brother and his two female traveling companions.

Thunderchild from Jeff wayne's WOTW

Thunderchild Depicted in Jeff Wayne's Musical Adaption.

In The Novel[]

See also: The HMS Thunder Child Incident

The ship is described as a huge ironclad with several guns and twin funnels. It was also noted as being so low in the water that it appeared to be waterlogged.

Adaptations[]

In Movies[]

The Thunder Child has only appeared in the Pendragon Pictures version of the War of the Worlds. The film wrongly portrays the vessel as a Havock-class destroyer. The battle is reversed, much like the Jeff Wayne's version, where the ship fires its cannon before ramming the tripod.

The 1953 and 2005 versions completely omit any mention of the Thunder Child. The only War of the Worlds adaptation other than the Pendragon Pictures film to feature the Thunder Child was the Jeff Wayne's Musical Adaptation .

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds[]

In Jeff Wayne's musical version of the novel, the attack of the Thunder Child is reversed from the book. In the musical the Thunder Child fires her guns as she approaches the tripods, instead of ramming them first. (The Pendragon Pictures' film also portrays this). The Thunder Child successfully rams one of the three fighting machines, cutting it down, but is sunk When it's taken Damage by the Heat ray of the other two While the Martians Concentrate all Fire on Thunder Child With all Heat Ray Fire Tearing through it's Hull.

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Tripods attacking the Thunder Child

The Thunder Child successfully Sacrificed it Self and Protects the steamer which is evacuating the population; including the narrator's wife, Carrie.

The Album cover of the 1978 version does not accurately portray the novel's description. The cover portrays a Canopus-class battleship engaging the Martian tripod.


In Games[]

Picture8 (2)

3 Ironclad warships in-game

In the 1998 PC game Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds, the Thunder Child can be constructed as an Ironclad warship. It's primary function is off-shore bombardment and can deliver heavy damage to all units (including airborne units) and structures. It is constructed from a Shipyard in-game.

In the 1999 Playstation game Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds, the 7th Level involves the player taking control of the HMS Thunder Child. While part of the level briefly involves the Thunder Child protecting the steamer from Flying Machines, the rest of the level follows the game's alternate version of the story - with the Thunder Child taking down multiple Martian machines - such as Drones, Scouting Machines and Bombarding Machines - as well as Martian structures such as Suspension Field Sites and Telepathic Training Centres.

Jeff_Wayne's_The_War_of_the_Worlds_PSone_game_-_COME_ON_THUNDERCHILD!_(7_LEVEL)-0

Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds PSone game - COME ON THUNDERCHILD! (7 LEVEL)-0

Because of the number of Martian Defenses the Thunder Child has to take down, it is notably much more durable than in the novel/musical as it is able to take multiple hits from enemies and still carry on. Finally, the Thunder Child faces the Tempest in a Boss Battle at the end of the level - successfully bringing the machine down after destroying its Black Smoke Chemical Launcher and Twin Heat-Rays.


In Comics[]

Captain Wodensen, alongside a portrait of his father

Captain Wodensen, alongside a portrait of his father.

Although the Thunder Child does not appear in the movie War of the Worlds: Goliath , the comic book story "The Captain" from Heavy Metal Magazine - which ties into the film - declares that the captain of the Thunder Child was called Captain Eric Wodensen, while the ship itself was referred to as a Minotaur-Class Ironclad Battleship that was already outdated when it was called into battle.

15 years on from the sinking of the ship, Captain Eric Wodensen's son would follow in his father's footsteps and become a Naval Captain working for A.R.E.S - with his son's ship (upon which a portrait of Eric Wodensen hung) taking part in the battle of New York against the Martian's Flying and Fighting-Machines; his son's ship been named the 'HMS Thunder Child II'.

Real Life Counterparts[]

Ship

Diagram of HMS Polyphemus.

Uss Intrepid 1874

The only known photograph of the USS Intrepid the only known American Torpedo Ram that was taken at her dry dock at an unknown date, (Possibly 1874)

The only torpedo ram of the Royal Navy was HMS Polyphemus, which may have served as inspiration for the HMS Thunder Child.

There was also a Danish Torpedo Ram named Tordenskjold (Thundershield) whose similar name suggests a connection, along with the American USS Interpid which was made a decade before the HMS Polyphemus was even launched, and might have possessed the exact ram section of the Bow that the Thunder Child may have also had when the ship was first illustrated in the early 20th Century, though this could have been a misunderstanding at the time.

There is also the USS Alarm which was launched in 1873 a year prior to the USS Intrepid even though she was considered an actual Torpedo Boat, the USS Alarm was shown to be that of a Torpedo Ram as well, due to the way her bow was fashioned, back during the time of the early 1870s.

The USS Intrepid would be decommissioned in 1882 a year after the British Empire would launch the HMS Polyphemus, and would be stricken by May 9th, 1892 where she would be sold for scrap, it is unknown of H.G Wells took inspiration from the Intrepid as well, due to the ship's bow almost being identical to that of the first illustration of Thunder Child.

Gallery[]

Thunder_Child_(part1,wip)

Thunder Child (part1,wip)

HMS_Thunderchild_vs_GERMAN_Battleship_1900

HMS Thunderchild vs GERMAN Battleship 1900

A hypothetical battle between the HMS Thunder Child and the German battleship Kaiser Friedrich II

See Also[]


 

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