On March 27, 1794, President George Washington and Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Navy. See how much you didn’t know about America’s maritime branch of the military...

David Farragut Was the Navy’s First Admiral The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world, with more than 300,000 active duty personnel and the highest tonnage in its battle fleet. This amazing man is known for the quote, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” But he was much more than that. Farragut was only nine years old when he joined the Navy and served in the War of 1812. He was placed in charge of a ship at age 12, and by 20, was a seasoned officer. He went on to serve in the Navy during the Civil War and helped to win the Battle of Vicksburg, which gave the Union important control over the Mississippi River.

No One Seems to Know Where the Navy Was Born Admiral Farragut was on active duty for life and served in the U.S. Navy for 60 years. Image credit: WikiCommons Both Beverly and Marblehead, Massachusetts claim that the schooner Hannah, which was an armed vessel used during the American Revolution, was where the Navy was born. It was in Beverly that the new sea vessel was armed, while the crew was selected in Marblehead. Other cities that claim to be the Navy’s birthplace include Providence, Rhode Island; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Whitehall, New York.

Navy Personnel Who Serve on Submarines Are Volunteers It’s probably a bad idea for those with claustrophobia to serve on a submarine because it offers cramped quarters without any windows or differentiation between day and night, so all submariners are volunteers. Most U.S. Navy submarines are fairly small and stay underwater for months, plus they are nuclear powered. Those who want to serve on a submarine have to pass stringent physical and psychological tests, which is probably a good idea.

TOPGUN Has Been Around Since the Vietnam War The U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as TOPGUN, is located in Nevada and was founded to train pilots in air-to-air combat. In the 1970s, this successful training program lowered the kill/loss ratio to 13:1 from its high of 3.7:1. In 1986, Tom Cruise starred in a movie about TOPGUN where he played a well-trained fighter pilot.

Captain James Kirk Commands the USS Zumwalt Captain Kirk, not to be confused with the mythical captain of the Enterprise, commands the largest destroyer that was ever built for the Navy. The ship is 610-feet long and weighs about 15,000 tons. Advanced stealth capabilities on the ship allow it to be registered by other ships as a small fishing boat, and its missile system can strike targets as far as 63 miles away.