Although tanks are able to cope with shallow water such as streams, they are not suited to moving through deeper water such as wading from a landing craft to the beach. To do this, special preparation and equipment is necessary. The British method during the latter years of the Second World War was to seal any gaps where water could leak in then extend the air intakes and exhausts with large tubes made of sheet steel. This prevented the tank taking in water that could swamp the engine or drown the crew but allowed air to both as well as giving a path for the exhaust to reach above water level. After it had been prepared a tank could operate in approximately 2m of water (as the UK used Imperial measurements, this was listed as 6 feet). Although the general principle was the same for all, the method for preparing each type varied because of its design. The Churchill, for example, needed attention to the doors on the hull sides as well as the usual extensions for air intake though with its exhausts on top of the hull it only needed simple round tubes to extend the exhaust outlets. Sets of parts for each type of tank were developed and manufactured, to aid in fitting them a series of instruction manuals were produced describing the process step by step.
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