Leopard was the fifth of six Type 24 torpedo boats built for the German Navy (initially called the Reichsmarine and then renamed as the Kriegsmarine in 1935) during the 1920s.

[3] The boats carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,997 nmi (3,698 km; 2,298 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).

[4] As built, the Type 24s mounted three 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/28[Note 1] guns, one forward and two aft of the superstructure, numbered one through three from bow to stern.

[10] During the Norwegian Campaign, Leopard and Wolf were assigned to Group 3 under Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Hubert Schmundt on the light cruiser Köln, tasked to capture Bergen harbor.

After loading troops of the invasion force in Cuxhaven, the torpedo boats and the depot ship Carl Peters proceeded independently to rendezvous with the rest of Group 3 on the afternoon of 8 April.

The torpedo boats streamed their minesweeping gear and cut the cables of two mines which floated to the surface as they proceeded through the fjords.

The following morning, the pilot of a Norwegian Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.11 floatplane mistook Leopard for a friendly ship, but realized his mistake after landing and was able to escape without damage.