The Peruvian Navy is the maritime branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces, founded on 8 October 1821. Jose de San Martin oversaw the establishment of Peru's navy during the Peruvian War of Independence, using captured Spanish warships and training naval infantry for the capture of Arica. The Peruvian Navy went on to serve in the Gran Colombia-Peru War of 1828-1829, the War of the Confederation from 1836 to 1839, the Chincha Islands War with Spain in 1866, the War of the Pacific from 1879 to 1883, and the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War of 1941. The War of the Pacific saw the Peruvian Navy be destroyed by the Chilean Navy after a spirited fight, and it was completely rebuilt in the ensuing years. Peruvian warships supported the Peruvian Army in the 1911 and 1932 border conflicts with Colombia and the 1941 war with Ecuador, and Peru's navy patrolled against possible threats by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The navy experienced a major buildup fromt he 1970s to the early 1980s, but the economic crisis of the late 1980s led to the navy's decline. By the 2020s, the Peruvian Navy had nearly 26,000 active personnel, 51 ships, and 43 aircraft.