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)

Guests attend preview event for “Candytopia”, the outrageously interactive candy wonderland, opening in San Francisco, USA on September 6, 2018. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Candytopia)

Julia Marino of USA in action during the final run of the snowboard slopestyle competition at the Laax Open, in Laax, Switzerland, 17 January 2020. (Photo by Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Hungary's athlete Anna Toth lies on track after a fall in the women's 100m hurdles semifinal during the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic stadium in Rome on June 8, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)

A tornado builds and travels southwest causing damage near Dean Rd. and 82nd Avenue in Hutchinson, Kan. on Monday, July 13, 2015. (Photo by Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News via AP Photo)

Green algae sits on a beach in Kuwait City, Kuwait, 28 February 2017. The formation of green algae is a normal phenomenon that occurs every year at the shores of Kuwait. (Photo by Raed Qutena/EPA)

A person dressed as an astronaut walks past a man stopping traffic on a pedestrian crossing outside the Sydney Exhibition Centre September 13, 2014 where the science-fiction convention called “Oz Comic-Con” is currently being held. The two-day convention showcases “pop culture”, and includes appearances by actors from science-fiction movies and television shows. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

A picture made available on 17 September 2014 shows extreme athletes resting in hammocks on webbings stretched between rocks during the International Highline Meeting in Monte Piana, near Misurina, in the northern Italian Alps, Italy, 08 September 2014. (Photo by Balazs Mohai/EPA)