USS Sea Owl (SS/AGSS-405), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the sea owl, a lumpfish of the North Atlantic. Sea Owl was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine on 7 February 1944; launched on 7 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas L. Gatch; and commissioned on 17 July 1944, Lieutenant Commander Carter L. Bennett in command.