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)

Gold medalist Mujinga Kambundji, of Switzerland, left, and silver medalist Ewa Swoboda, of Poland, celebrate after finishing the Women 60 meters final at the European Athletics Indoor Championships at Atakoy Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 3, 2023. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

The singer Ciara attends ELLE's 27th Annual Women In Hollywood Celebration, presented by Ralph Lauren and Lexus, at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for ELLE)

In this February 4, 2016 picture a masked participant of the traditional carnival parade poses in the streets of the village of Kippel in the Loetschental valley, southwestern part of Switzerland. During this sinister carnival, participants wearing wooden masks and animal furs, crowd the streets of the villages to scare the people. (Photo by Dominic Steinmann/Keystone via AP Photo)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights cheerleaders perform during a game against the Connecticut Huskies at High Point Solutions Stadium on October 6, 2012 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers defeated Connecticut 19-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz)

“Seagulls by Snuff Puppets causing mischief” stand alongside members of “Smashed: The Nightcap cabaret show” during the opening day press call for Sydney Festival 2024 on January 05, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)

A model stumbles as she presents a creation by Swiss designer Albert Kriemler as part of his Spring/Summer 2020 women's ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Akris during the Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 29, 2019. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

Skiers take part in the Skicolor event where they are sprayed with biodegradable color powders as part of carnival celebrations in the alpine resort of La Tzoumaz, Switzerland on February 23, 2020. (Photo by Valentin Flauraud/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)