Count Dracula demonstrated exceptional maneuverability during the Dunkirk evacuation under the command of Commander Ewart Brookes, DSC, RNVR. Originally built in 1913, the vessel was powered by a steam engine and served in the Imperial German Navy. Kaiser Wilhelm II presented her to Admiral von Hipper, who used her as his admiral's barge aboard every ship he commanded.

Admiral von Hipper notably used Count Dracula to transfer from the Lutzow to the battleship Moeltke just before the Lutzow sank during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Subsequently, the vessel accompanied him to the Grand Battle Cruiser Hindenburg. Following the German fleet's surrender and subsequent scuttling at Scapa Flow in 1918, Count Dracula narrowly avoided destruction. A young German sailor, unwilling to see the vessel lost, released her from her davit winches, allowing her to float free as the Hindenburg sank. The Royal Navy later salvaged her.

After serving as a private yacht, Count Dracula was taken to Ramsgate by Alan Greiner, son of her owner Carl Greiner, where Commander Brookes assumed command. Brookes, having already endured two days and a night at the Dunkirk beaches and the loss of his previous ship, appreciated the vessel's speed and power. During the evacuation, Count Dracula towed two 35-foot lifeboats heavily laden with troops and successfully evacuated 702 British and 10 Belgian soldiers.

The vessel became well-armed during the operation, acquiring three Bren guns and one French Hotchkiss machine gun, which were used to engage Stuka dive bombers. Commander Brookes later recounted:

"I finally brought her back to Ramsgate with 38 soldiers on board, Royal Engineers, who had spent all the week on the beach by the Casino, building a temporary pier of Thames barges."

"I felt rather pleased at the last little jab because at midnight on June 1st, the order was passed: 'all small boats back to England under escort.' German 'E-Boats' had come down the coast. The intention was to abandon the Royal Engineers and to allow them to get into the town of Dunkirk as best they could—if they could. A difficult job then, because the Germans were close to the beach and had it under machine gun fire."

"A Mr. Jeffries from Brighton (a garage owner, I believe) and myself decided to take a chance and see if we could get the Royal Engineers off. We did. All of them. And as they came away, they were exchanging fire with German troops in lorries or armoured cars. A close thing. I received a reprimand for leaving the convoy of small ships, but as it was one of many reprimands I had during the war for doing odd things, I didn't worry a great deal."

Following the war, Count Dracula returned to the Greiner family, who eventually sold her. Over the next two decades, the vessel was lost to their knowledge until Mrs. Greiner rediscovered her being used as a houseboat on the Upper Thames. This rediscovery led to Count Dracula joining the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS).

Count Dracula participated in the 1980 return to Dunkirk and was subsequently sold to Richard Huggett, who spent five years restoring her for the 1985 return. For his efforts, Huggett received an inscribed tankard from Vice-Admiral Sir John Roxborough KCB, CBE, DSO, DSC. However, due to omitted keel bolts by the shipyard, Count Dracula sank a few days later. She was soon salvaged and is currently in excellent condition under the ownership of Mike Hamby.

A notable misunderstanding arose regarding Count Dracula's connection with the Royal Engineers. Lieutenant Colonel Davies, commanding the 38 Engineer Regiment, initially believed that the vessel had rescued his entire unit under fire. In reality, the rescue involved 38 individual Royal Engineers, who were members of the 38 Field Company, Royal Engineers. This clarification inspired Colonel Davies to honor the vessel. Forty-six years after the Dunkirk evacuation, Count Dracula received a commemorative plaque, now displayed on the bulkhead of her admiral's saloon, recognizing her valiant service.

The plaque presentation ceremony included Sergeant Chalmers of the Royal Engineers, now a Chelsea Pensioner, who recalled being one of the 38 men rescued by Count Dracula at Dunkirk. He never forgot the vessel's name or her distinctive tall red funnel, which, along with much of her timbers and deck gear, remains unchanged since her launch at Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea coast of Germany by the Kaiser in 1913.