In “The War of the Worlds,” the Martians use tripod machines.
H. G. Wells’s 1898 novel describes these vehicles as towering, three-legged fighting machines that stride across the English countryside during the invasion. Their height, speed, and unusual design make them terrifyingly advanced compared with the military technology of Victorian Earth. The machines carry a heat-ray and can release black smoke, while flexible metal tentacles help the Martians seize objects and people.
“Tripod” is the standard quiz answer, although Wells more often describes them as “fighting-machines” rather than using tripod as their formal name. The term became especially widespread through later illustrations, adaptations, and popular summaries. The Martians also use other machines in the novel, including handling and flying machines, but the tripod is their primary combat vehicle.
A common mix-up is the cylinder: Martians arrive in cylinders, but the cylinders are spacecraft or invasion capsules, not the walking machines themselves. Flying saucers are associated with some later science-fiction imagery, not Wells’s original design.