She was deployed to the eastern Atlantic Ocean between July and October 1974 and conducted her first patrol mission before visiting Holy Loch, Scotland, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on her way home.

Departing Faslane for home in late January 1974, William H. Bates underwent a refit at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, before conducting local operations off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, into the summer of 1975.

In November 1975, she took part in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises "Moby Dick" and "Ocean Safari '75," before she returned to New London in December 1975.

William H. Bates operated in the Atlantic into early 1978 until moving to a new home port, San Diego, California, in May 1978 for service in the United States Pacific Fleet.

During her deployments, she conducted port visits at Subic Bay in the Philippines, at Chinhae in South Korea, at Yokosuka and Sasebo in Japan, at Guam, and at Satahip in Thailand, among other places.