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)

Dasha performs during the CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards in Austin, Texas, U.S., April 7, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Wurm/Reuters)

Kanye West and Bianca Censori were spotted in Prato, Italy on June 1, 2024, where the rapper oversees his clothing production. Bianca holds sketches of designs, hinting at the creative process behind their venture. (Photo by Focus Tuscany/Backgrid USA)

British singer-songwriter Rita Ora performs during Manchester Pride 2024 on August 24, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)

A woman wades throug a flooded Main Street as she makes her way to work in Carrigaline, Co. Cork, Ireland on October 18, 2023. (Photo by David Creedon/The Irish Times)

The model Dovima in a suit and cloche hat at Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris, France in 1955. (Photo by Richard Avedon/The Richard Avedon Foundation/The Guardian)

A leave covered in raindrops is pictured with others having changed to their autumnal colours and fallen from the trees in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on October 29, 2024. (Photo by David Gannon/AFP Photo)

Sage Colina holds Rhianna as she is prepared to be adopted from the Humane Society of Greater Miami on December 13, 2023 in Miami, Florida. The shelter is experiencing an overcrowding crisis, like many nationwide, with people releasing their family pets to animal shelters since they can no longer afford to take care of them, after the high cost of pet care and the expense of veterinarian services, among other reasons. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)