Editing Fleet in being (section)

==Use of the term==
The term was first used in 1690 when [[Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington|Lord Torrington]], commander of the [[Royal Navy]] forces in the [[English Channel]], found himself facing a stronger French fleet. He proposed avoiding a sea battle, except under very favourable conditions, until he could be reinforced. By keeping his "fleet in being", he could maintain an active threat, which would force the enemy to remain in the area and prevent them from taking the initiative elsewhere.<ref>{{harvnb|Maltby|1994|p=160}}</ref>

===Secondary use===
[[Rudyard Kipling]] published a series of articles about the British [[Channel Fleet]] under the title ''A Fleet in Being: Notes of Three Trips with the Channel Squadron'' in 1898, but did not use the term in the sense described here.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/rg_fleet_intro.htm|title=A Fleet in Being|last=Brock|first=P. W.|date=5 November 2003|publisher=Kipling Society |orig-year=1961|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref>