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)

An ice swimming enthusiast dressed as Neptune takes to the frigid waters of Orankesee lake during the 27th annual "Winter Swimming in Berlin" on January 8, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. A local swimmers' group called the “Berlin Seals” invite ice swimmers from across Germany and abroad to the annual event. Members claim ice swimming is good for the body's blood circulation. (Photo by Sean Gallup)

People pose for photographs in the wind during Typhoon Saola in Tseung kwan O, in Hong Kong on Saturday, September 2, 2023. Typhoon Saola made landfall in southern China before dawn Saturday after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and other parts of coastal southern China suspended business, transport and classes. (Photo by Billy H.C. Kwok/AP Photo)

Monkeys sit along a street during a snowfall in Ayubia, some 75 km north of Islamabad, Pakistan on January 7, 2020. (Photo by Aamir Qureshi/AFP Photo)

A municipality worker in a protective suit feeds street cats at Sultanahmet Square, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Istanbul, Turkey, April 9, 2020. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Freshmen take part in a military training at Chongqing City Vocational College on September 23, 2021 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Chen Shichuan/VCG via Getty Images)

The Invasion. A quiet street in Macau. Modernization around is quickly changing the city, as documented by Paul Tsui. (Photo by Paul Tsui/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)

A woman peels potatoes for sale at a market located along a railway line in West Jakarta, Indonesia March 1, 2016. (Photo by Garry Lotulung/Reuters)