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Re: Origin of the word "tank" (military)



So, does this mean the Motorcycle story from 1917 was perhaps an advertising ploy used by the industry?  Was it completely fabricated or is there a competing story out there? 
 
Just wondering,
Tom Anderson; Collections
American Museum of Science and Energy
300 S. Tulane
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
(865) 576-3228 (Voice), (865) 576-6024 (Fax)
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Berry <tberry@WCNET.ORG>
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001 4:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ARCHIVES] Origin of the word "tank" (military)

From The Caterpillar Story, a company history published by Caterpillar, Inc. in 1984 and reprinted in 1990:

"The first workable (tanks), built by British manufacture in 1916, were referred to as 'water tanks for Mesopotamia' - partly because of their appearance, partly to keep their true nature secret."

So how does construction equipment titan Caterpillar speak authoritatively on World War I tanks? Caterpillar predecessor Holt Tractor Company was instrumental in helping the British develop the tank. Holt was consulted because of the outstanding reputation their crawler tractors had already earned for their ability to go anywhere and "climb like hell," as British Lt. Colonel Ernest  Swinton, a key figure in the development of the tank, put it. The tanks were built in Britain, but the Holt crawlers provided the inspiration.
 

Best wishes,

Thomas Berry, Archivist
Historical Construction Equipment Association
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
Phone 419-352-5616
Fax 419-352-6086
tberry@wcnet.org
http://www.hcea.net
 
 
 
 

Jackson, Bill wrote:

This is trivial, but if it's true, we are rather fascinated by it.....

We have a copy of an illustration and a caption from Motorcycling and
Bicycling (periodical, 1/15/17 issue), which claims that the World War I era
British tanks were so named because they were shaped almost exactly like the
gas tanks found on many motorcycle brands of the period.

It is entirely true that the two shapes are incredibly simliar, but does
anyone know if there is truth to this?  If it were not in a 1917 magazine,
I'd be tempted to think it an urban legend......


Bill Jackson
Senior Archivist
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Milwaukee, WI



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This is trivial, but if it's true, we are rather fascinated by it.....We have a copy of an illustration and a caption from Motorcycling and Bicycling (periodical, 1/15/17 issue), which claims that the World War I era British tanks were so named because they were shaped almost exactly like the gas tanks found on many motorcycle brands of the period.It is entirely true that the two shapes are incredibly simliar, but does anyone know if there is truth to this?  If it were not in a 1917 magazine, I'd be tempted to think it an urban legend...... Bill Jackson
Senior Archivist
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Milwaukee, WI