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)

Nora White, 6, dumps a cup of water on her sister Kennedy White, 3, at Barnett Field Splash Pad in Edmond, Okla., on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.(Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman via USA TODAY Network)

A boy dives into the water during training in Kyiv's Liko Diving School, July 3, 2024. According to Ukraine's first lady, more than 2 million children have fled the country. The departures have impacted various sports. (Photo by Alex Babenko/AP Photo)

Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele, left, trips San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, center, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, November 25, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. (Photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)

Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom looks on during a women's singles match against Anna Kalinskaya on day 6 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Bujang, a 35-year-old male orangutan rescued from a circus in Sumatra, washes his face on a sanctuary island surrounded by a river where non-releasable orangutans are protected for life at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Rehabilitation Center run by the non-profit Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation in Samboja, East Kalimantan, on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

A woman takes a selfie next to a model of Thor during the Middle East Film & Comic Con (MEFCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, April 11, 2015. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)

Rickshaw drivers wade through a flooded road after heavy rains swept through Guwahati, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, on June 26, 2014. Seven people have been killed there in flash floods, landslides and heavy rainfall, local media reported Friday. (Photo by Utpal Baruah/Reuters)