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In naval warfare
Naval warfare

Naval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers....
, a fleet in being is a naval force that extends a controlling influence without ever leaving port. Were the fleet to leave port and face the enemy, it might lose in battle and no longer influence the enemy's actions, but by simply remaining safely in port the enemy is forced to continually deploy forces to guard against it. A fleet in being can be part of a sea denial
Sea denial

Sea denial is a military term describing attempts to deny an enemy's ability to use the sea but at the same time making no attempt to control the sea itself....
 doctrine but not one of sea control.

term was first used in 1690, when Lord Torrington
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington

Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington was a British admiral and politician of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Cashiered as a rear-admiral by James II of England in 1688 for refusing to serve under Catholic officers, he brought the Invitation to William to The Hague, disguised as a simple sailor....
, commander of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
 forces in the English Channel
English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
, found himself facing a stronger French fleet.






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In naval warfare
Naval warfare

Naval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers....
, a fleet in being is a naval force that extends a controlling influence without ever leaving port. Were the fleet to leave port and face the enemy, it might lose in battle and no longer influence the enemy's actions, but by simply remaining safely in port the enemy is forced to continually deploy forces to guard against it. A fleet in being can be part of a sea denial
Sea denial

Sea denial is a military term describing attempts to deny an enemy's ability to use the sea but at the same time making no attempt to control the sea itself....
 doctrine but not one of sea control.

Use of the term

The term was first used in 1690, when Lord Torrington
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington

Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington was a British admiral and politician of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Cashiered as a rear-admiral by James II of England in 1688 for refusing to serve under Catholic officers, he brought the Invitation to William to The Hague, disguised as a simple sailor....
, commander of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
 forces in the English Channel
English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
, found himself facing a stronger French fleet. He proposed avoiding a sea battle, except under very favourable conditions, until he could be reinforced. By thus 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.

World War I

A more modern example is the stand-off between the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet

The High Seas Fleet was the main battle fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I. The fleet was based at Wilhelmshaven in the Jadebusen, and commanded by Admirals Friedrich von Ingenohl , Hugo von Pohl , Reinhard Scheer , and Franz von Hipper ....
 and the British Grand Fleet during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. Other than the inconclusive engagement at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of World War I and the only full-scale clash of battleships in that war. It was only the second major fleet action between steel battleships in any war, following the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, but was also the last....
, both Britain and Germany preferred to keep their fleets intact rather than taking the risk of losing an engagement.

World War II

In World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, actions of the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 Royal Navy
Regia Marina

The Regia Marina Italiana dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification . In 1946, with the birth of the Italy , the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic ....
 (Regia Marina
Regia Marina

The Regia Marina Italiana dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification . In 1946, with the birth of the Italy , the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic ....
) in 1940 also demonstrate the idea of a 'fleet in being'. After a number of minor battles against the Royal Navy that were mostly lost or inconclusive, the Italian fleet was left in Taranto
Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Puglia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
 from where it could sortie
Sortie

Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it of aircraft, ship or, in older times, of columns of troops from a fort....
 very quickly against any British attempt to reach Malta
Malta

Malta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed country European microstates microstate in the European Union....
. Because of this threat the British decided to attack the Italian fleet at anchor during the famed Battle of Taranto
Battle of Taranto

The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11 November 1940 – 12 November 1940 during World War II. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and attacking the Italy fleet at harbour in Taranto....
. In this action, the British sank three Italian battleships, about half of the Italian Navy's battleship strength. Realising that Taranto harbour was no longer safe, the Italians relocated the undamaged ships to ports further away. As a 'fleet in being' is not very effective at a distance, the Italians were forced into combat and suffered repeated losses over the next two years.

Even more so than other surface vessels in the German Navy
Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi Germany regime, superseding the Reichsmarine, and the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I....
 (Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi Germany regime, superseding the Reichsmarine, and the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I....
), the overwhelmingly powerful German battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz

Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship battleship of the Germany Kriegsmarine, sister ship of German battleship Bismarck, named after Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz....
 served her entire career as a 'fleet in being' in her own right. Although she never fired a shot at an enemy ship, her mere presence forced the Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
 to allocate powerful warships in defending Arctic convoys, and caused a major convoy (PQ-17
Convoy PQ-17

PQ-17 was a World War II convoy carrying war mat?riel from United Kingdom, Canada and the United States to the Soviet Union. PQ-17 sailed in June-July 1942 and suffered the heaviest losses of any Arctic convoys of World War II, with 25 vessels out of 36 lost to enemy action....
) to scatter, suffering huge losses, mainly to U-boats
U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized#Loanwords version of the German language word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II....
 and aircraft.

Concept

The 'fleet in being' concept is based on the assumption that the fleet is relatively safe in port, even if near the enemy. After the battle of Taranto
Battle of Taranto

The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11 November 1940 – 12 November 1940 during World War II. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and attacking the Italy fleet at harbour in Taranto....
 and the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, later resulting in the United States becoming militarily involved in World War II....
, however, it became obvious that air power made a fleet concentrated in a port vulnerable, and a fleet in being was no longer a safe option.

The idea of a 'fleet in being' can be generalised to forces other than naval. A fortress under siege is essentially an 'army in being,' which ties up enemy forces without leaving the fortress or doing much fighting. During the Gulf War
Gulf War

"Persian Gulf War" and "First Gulf War" redirect here. For other uses, see Persian Gulf War .The Persian Gulf War was a United Nations-authorized military conflict between Iraq and a Coalition of Gulf War from 34 nations commissioned with expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait after Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait of Kuwait in August 1990....
 Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.A leading member of the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power....
 used his air force with an operational doctrine analogous to 'fleet in being.' The mere presence of the Iraqi Air Force in hardened bunkers forced the coalition attacking Iraq to act cautiously and to escort its bomber sorties until the aircraft shelters were found to be vulnerable.

(Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English author and poet. Born in Mumbai, British India , he is best known for his works of fiction The Jungle Book , Kim , many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King ; and his poems, including Mandalay , Gunga Din , and If? ....
 published a series of articles about the British Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet is the historical name used for the group of Royal Navy warships that defended the waters of the English Channel.Various fleets of Royal Navy ships have operated in the channel since the 16th century to fight the Spanish Armada in 1588 or the Netherlands invasion fleet that brought William III of England to England in 168...
 under the title A Fleet in Being in 1898, but did not use the term in the sense described here.)

See also

  • Red Sea Flotilla
    Red Sea Flotilla

    The Red Sea Flotilla was a unit of the Regia Marina based in Massawa, Eritrea, when Massawa was part of Italian East Africa. In World War II, the Red Sea Flotilla was active against the United Kingdom Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet from Italy's declaration of war on 10 June 1940 until the fall of Massawa on 8 April 1941....
  • Deterritorialization
    Deterritorialization

    Deterritorialization is a concept created by Gilles Deleuze and F?lix Guattari in Anti-Oedipus , which, in accordance to Deleuze's desire and philosophy, quickly became used by others, for example in anthropology, and transformed in this reappropriation....


Bibliography


  • Virilio, Paul
    Paul Virilio

    Paul Virilio is a Culture theory and Urban planning. He is best known for his writings about technology as it has developed in relation to speed and power, with diverse references to architecture, the arts, the city and the military....
    , Speed and Politics: An Essay on Dromology New York: Semiotext(e), 1977 [1986]