A left rear view of a Marine M1A1 main battle tank equipped with a fording kit as it nears the stern ramp of a Navy air cushion landing craft (LCAC). The fording kit, which is being evacuated by the Marine Corps, has as its main components an exhaust tow

Tanks in mass culture. Tanks were first developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front. Their first use in combat was by the British Army in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name "tank" was adopted by the British during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose.