During World War II, U.S. Navy seamen served in the most powerful fleet ever established to maintain control of the seas. They took part in major U.S. victories at sea, including battles in the Pacific. In 1942, the Pacific Fleet forced back the Japanese fleet off Midway, ending Japanese threats to Hawaii. In 1944, a U.S. force of 169 warships fought Japan in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, eliminating Japanese naval power. By the end of World War II in 1945, the U.S. Navy had amassed the most effective and powerful fleet that ever existed, with 3,400,000 men and women and 2,500 ships, including 24 battleships, 35 aircraft carriers, 77 escort carriers, 92 cruisers, 501 destroyers, 406 destroyer escorts, and 262 submarines.