The Postal Service issued the US Navy Submarines booklet of ten commemorative stamps in Groton, Connecticut, on March 27, 2000. The stamp booklet, designed by Carl Herrman of Carlsbad, California, and illustrated by James Griffiths of Glenview, Illinois, went on sale nationwide March 28, 2000.
These five stamp designs depict different periods in submarine technology. In 1900, with the purchase of the USS Holland, the US Navy acquired its first submarine. The S class submarine shows the change in technology and size that occurred after the USS Holland. The Gato class submarine represents the contributions that submarines made to American naval superiority in the Pacific during World War II. The Ohio class submarine is 560 feet long with twenty-four Trident ballistic missiles and represents an ever-present deterrent to possible military aggression. Los Angeles class attack submarines are nuclear powered. The Los Angeles Class commemorative stamp depicted in this booklet could be purchased separately.
The Banknote Corporation of America, Inc., produced 15 million stamps in the offset process.
