USS Leopard (IX-122), an Armadillo-class tanker designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the Nth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the leopard, a large and ferocious spotted cat of southern Asia and Africa. Her keel was laid down as William B. Bankhead on 5 October 1943 by Delta Shipbuilding Company, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under a Maritime Commission contract (T. Z-ET1-S-C3). She was renamed Leopard on 27 October 1943, launched on 15 November 1943 sponsored by Mrs. William B. Bankhead, acquired by the Navy 24 December 1943, and commissioned on 26 December 1943 with Lieutenant G. C. Foltz in command.