The story gained in popularity after 1667 when the Dutch fleet broke another chain to win an important naval victory.
An undated Langendijk painting displays a scene from the Raid on the Medway by admiral Michiel de Ruyter in 1667.
The next year, in 1667, the Dutch under command of De Ruyter executed a retaliatory expedition, and dealt the English navy a heavy blow at the Raid on the Medway (also known as the Battle of Chatham), in effect ending the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
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Notably an early use was in 1667, during the Dutch Raid on the Medway and their attempts to do likewise in the Thames during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, when a number of warships and merchant ships commandeered by the Royal Navy were sunk in those rivers to attempt to stop the attacking forces.