While it is well documented that Maarten Tromp first used it in the action of 18 September 1639, some have disputed this. One of the first precise written instructions in any language adopting the formation were contained in the English Navy's Fighting Instructions, written by Admiral Robert Blake and published in 1653. Individual captains on both sides of the First Anglo-Dutch War appear to have experimented with the technique in 1652, possibly including Blake at the Battle of Dover.