The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Preble (DDG 88), USS Halsey (DDG 97) and USS Sampson (DDG 102) are underway behind the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael A. Colemanberry/Released

The US Navy is perhaps the most visible aspect of American military power, and it turned 243 years old Saturday.

The Navy was established on October 13, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy, calling for two swift sailing vessels to be armed with 10 carriage guns and a proportional number of swivel guns, manned by a crew of eighty, and sent to intercept transport ships delivering munitions to the British army in America.

Since its establishment, the US Navy has evolved into an unmatched military force. These 18 awesome photos from the past year show the Navy in action.