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 woman from the Hui Muslim community carries food that will be eaten by her and others to break their fast during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Nanxiapo Mosque on June 8, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) activists protest in front of the venue during the Berlin Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019/20 in Berlin, Germany, January 15, 2019. (Photo by Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

A wide-angle view shows the ascent of the shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. In the seconds after ignition, the rocket engines' hot blast began the process of destruction. (Photo by NASA)

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)

Ava Cheptoo Cheruiyot, 11, a member of the Dance Centre Kenya (DCK), performs on stage during The Nutcracker at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi on December 7, 2024. The Nutcracker is a beloved Christmas ballet, first performed in 1892, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Known for its enchanting score and festive themes, it has become a holiday tradition worldwide. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

Young dancers perform in a ballet adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” during the Baghdad Ballet Academy's annual gala at Rasheed Theatre in Baghdad on August 29, 2025. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)

British South American Airways hostess Mary Guthrie with a pair of pineapples, on the return of the Lancastrian airliner 'Star Dust' to Heathrow Airport after a test-flight to Buenos Aires, 15th January 1946