美国海军(United States Navy)
美国军事组织中的主要军种，负责海上国防和在美国利益所在之处维持海上自由和海上的安全。1775年第二届大陆会议建立大陆海军，1784年大陆海军被解散，直至1798年，美国商船均在无保护下航行。为了对付巴贝里海岸海盗的扰乱，美国议会在1798年决定成立海军部，美国海军参与1812年战争，成为後来南北战争中联邦政府胜利的一个重要因素。在美西战争（1898）中海战的胜利，导致美国海军进入稳定发展的时期。美国海军在第一次世界大战期间其活动包括运送并供应地面军队和空军部队。日本袭击珍珠港海军基地後，美国参加了第二次世界大战。美国海军除了执行运输和补给任务外，在太平洋进行了积极主动的海上战争和空中战争，在大西洋进行了潜艇战。1950年代以来，美国海军已成为世界上最有机动力的海上力量之一。海军部设置於国防部之内。海军包括美国海军陆战队及作战时作为海军内一个兵种的美国海岸防卫队。
English version：
United States Navy
Major branch of the U.S. military forces, charged with defending the nation at sea and maintaining security on the seas wherever U.S. interests extend. The Continental Navy was established by the Continental Congress in 1775. It was disbanded in 1784, but the harassment of U.S. merchant ships by Barbary pirates prompted Congress to establish the Department of the Navy in 1798. The navy took part in the War of 1812 and was later important in the Union victory in the American Civil War. Sea victories during the Spanish-American War (1898) led to a period of steady growth. In World War I, its duties were limited to troop transport, minelaying, and escorting merchant ships. The Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor (1941) led to U.S. entry into World War II, in which, in addition to antisubmarine and troop transport duties, the navy conducted amphibious assaults in the Pacific theater and along the European coast. Aircraft carriers proved decisive in battles with Japanese forces in the Pacific, and they are still the backbone of the navy's fleets. Since World War II it has remained the largest and most powerful navy in the world. The Department of the Navy, a branch of the Department of Defense, is headed by a secretary of the navy. The navy includes the U.S. Marine Corps and, during wartime, the U.S. Coast Guard. In 2000 there were almost 400,000 Navy personnel on active duty, excluding the Marine Corps and Coast Guard. See also U.S. Naval Academy.