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 fan enters the pitch to hug Lionel Messi of Inter Miami during a friendly game between Sporting San Miguelito and Inter Miami at Rommel Fernandez Stadium on February 02, 2025 in Panama, Ciudad de, Panama. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

A girl looks up at the trophy she won after competing in a child beauty pageant at Northcote Town Hall on July 30, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. The controversial child beauty competition, kicked off today in Melbourne despite complaints and demonstrations by pageant opponents. Organised by the US-based pageant company that produces reality TV show “Toddlers and Tiaras”, Australian contestants will have the opportunity to pose with the reality show star, six year-old Eden Wood. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

A model presents a creation by designer Olivier Rousteing as part of his Spring/Summer 2022 women's ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Balmain during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 29, 2021. (Photo by Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

A drone photo shows that people enjoy at the Lake Urmia, one of the biggest saltwater lakes in the world located in the northwest of Iran, as recovering works continue due to drought affecting the whole country and putting the lake in danger of drying up again in Urmia, Iran on July 06, 2021. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

American actress Kathryn Newton during the Chloe Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 fashion show as part of the Paris Fashion Week on February 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Colombian singer Shakira showed off her incredible age-defying figure in a new bikini photoshoot early March 2024. The She Wolf singer, 47, had fans declaring that she was “aging backwards” as she posed in a nude tasseled two-piece on the beach. (Photo by Nicolas Gerardin)

A demonstration on March 15, 1922 on Palace Roof, 57th Street and 7th Avenue, showing the shellproof steel jacket. Leo Krause wearing the jacket, which weighs 12 pounds. Shots used, 38 and 45 calibre, at close range. (Photo by Bettmann Archive)