Winston
Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank#Etymology
Etymology
The word tank was first applied to the British "landships" in 1915, before they entered service, to keep their nature secret.
Origins
On 24 December 1915, a meeting took place of the [British] Inter-Departmental Conference. Its purpose was to discuss the progress of the plans for what were described as "Caterpillar Machine Gun Destroyers or Land Cruisers."
In his autobiography, Albert Gerald Stern, Secretary to the Landships Committee, later head of the Mechanical Warfare Supply Department, says that at that meeting, "Mr. (Thomas J.) Macnamara, M.P., and Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, then suggested, for secrecy's sake, to change the title of the Landships Committee. Mr. d'Eyncourt agreed that it was very desirable to retain secrecy by all means, and proposed to refer to the vessel as a 'Water Carrier'".
"In Government offices, committees and departments are always known by their initials. For this reason I, as Secretary, considered the proposed title totally unsuitable." (The initials W.C. are a British abbreviation for a water closet; in other words, a toilet.)
"In our search for a synonymous term, we changed the word 'Water Carrier' to 'Tank,' and became the 'Tank Supply' or 'T.S.' Committee. That is how these weapons came to be called Tanks," and he incorrectly added, "and the name has now been adopted by all countries in the world."
Unfortunately, later in the War, a number of Mk IV Tanks were fitted with grapnels to remove barbed wire. They were designated "Wire Cutters" and had the large letters "W.C." painted on their rear armour.
Etymology
The word tank was first applied to the British "landships" in 1915, before they entered service, to keep their nature secret.
Origins
On 24 December 1915, a meeting took place of the [British] Inter-Departmental Conference. Its purpose was to discuss the progress of the plans for what were described as "Caterpillar Machine Gun Destroyers or Land Cruisers."
In his autobiography, Albert Gerald Stern, Secretary to the Landships Committee, later head of the Mechanical Warfare Supply Department, says that at that meeting, "Mr. (Thomas J.) Macnamara, M.P., and Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, then suggested, for secrecy's sake, to change the title of the Landships Committee. Mr. d'Eyncourt agreed that it was very desirable to retain secrecy by all means, and proposed to refer to the vessel as a 'Water Carrier'".
"In Government offices, committees and departments are always known by their initials. For this reason I, as Secretary, considered the proposed title totally unsuitable." (The initials W.C. are a British abbreviation for a water closet; in other words, a toilet.)
"In our search for a synonymous term, we changed the word 'Water Carrier' to 'Tank,' and became the 'Tank Supply' or 'T.S.' Committee. That is how these weapons came to be called Tanks," and he incorrectly added, "and the name has now been adopted by all countries in the world."
Unfortunately, later in the War, a number of Mk IV Tanks were fitted with grapnels to remove barbed wire. They were designated "Wire Cutters" and had the large letters "W.C." painted on their rear armour.