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 young boy plugs his ears as his sister (C) and nanny (L) watch from Gravelly Point Park as planes land at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia on June 29, 2017. President Donald Trump' s travel ban on people from six mostly Muslim countries will come into force late Thursday, as controversy swirls over who qualifies for an exemption based on family ties. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP Photo)

Bangladeshi farmers carry harvested produce in a cultivated field ahead of the 14 May World Farmers Day in Chittagong, Bangladesh on May 12, 2022. (Photo by Mohammad Shajahan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Participants of the Cologne Pride rally pose in front of the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, July 3, 2022. This year's Christopher Street Day (CSD) Gay Parade with thousands of demonstrators for LGBTQ rights is the first after the coronavirus pandemic to be followed by hundreds of thousands of spectators in the streets of Cologne. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

A Ukrainian serviceman fires with a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft cannon at a position near a front line in the Kharkiv region, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine on August 10, 2022. (Photo by Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters)

A Muslim dervish whirls during celebrations for Mawlid al-Nabi that marks the birthday of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, October 9, 2022. Thousands of Muslims take part in religious processions, ceremonies and distribute free meals among the poor to mark the holiday. (Photo by Muhammad Sajjad/AP Photo)

Racegoers brave the rain during 2022 Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Martin Keep/Getty Images for VRC)

Adventurer Sam Cossman movies towards the huge lava lake wearing a custom built industrial proximity heat suit on December 20, 2014 in Ambrym, Vanuatu. (Photo by Conor Toumarkine/Barcroft Media)