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)

A photo taken on August 21, 2017 shows girls passing in front of a building with a display of the Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin Order in Volgograd, Russia. Volgograd Arena will host several cames of the FIFA World Cup 2018. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

People wearing mushroom hats stand in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Women sell bananas in the street, after traders in markets were prohibited from selling any non-food items in an attempt to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, in Kampala, Uganda Thursday, March 26, 2020. (Photo by Ronald Kabuubi/AP Photo)

Myanmar's Theiri Aung, seen in action during the women's sepak takraw semifinal against Vietnam, at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, on May 17, 2022. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Britain’s Kate, Princess of Wales, center, smiles as she wears an inflatable life vest during a visit at the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton, near Yeovil in Somerset, England, Monday, September 18, 2023. The Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton is one of the Royal Navy's two principal air stations and one of the busiest military airfields in the UK. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Mayoral hopeful Paperboy Prince is escorted by members of the New York Police Department after storming the stage during a Democratic mayoral forum at Medgar Evers College in New York City, on April 23, 2025. (Photo by David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters)

South Korean police officers show their martial arts' skills during the official launch ceremony of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on February 15, 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. The Korean National Police Agency launched a security squad, exclusively established for the successful hosting of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit will be held in Seoul from March 26-27, 2012. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)