One of the largest paddle steamers afloat in Britain is the H.M.S. Royal Eagle, former peacetime excursion boat which carried passengers on pleasure jaunts from Tower Bridge to Southend, Ramscate and Margate. Commissioned two years ago as a warship of the Royal Navy, the craft has been in action 52 times against enemy aircraft. The Eagle took part in the evacuation from Dunkirk where she was dive-bombed 48 times and brought home nearly 3,000 British troops. Members of the crew cleaning the paddle boxes of H.M.S. Royal Eagle in London on January 18, 1943. (Photo by AP Photo)

Guests attend preview event for “Candytopia”, the outrageously interactive candy wonderland, opening in San Francisco, USA on September 6, 2018. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Candytopia)

Cambodia's Kun Sreynich and Philippines' Lopez Leah in action during individual judo finals at Chroy Changvar Convention Centre Hall C in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 15, 2023. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

An England fan during a screening of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 semi-final between Australia and England at BOXPARK Wembley, London on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)

A gopher tortoise walks the grounds of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, near the Vehicle Assembly Building on January 18, 2024. An all-European crew including Turkey's first astronaut are poised to blast off to the International Space Station in a mission with Axiom Space, as countries hungry for a taste of space turn increasingly to the private sector. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)

Italy's Giada Greggi, Elena Linari and teammates celebrate after qualifying for the Women's Euro 2025, in Bolzano, Italy on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters)

Revelers enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

Axelle Mollaret of France competes in the Women's Individual race at the ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Championships, in Morgins, Switzerland, 07 March 2025. (Photo by Maxime Schmid/EPA)