[3] In 1936, Seydlitz was constructed as yard number 570 by the German shipbuilder Seebeckwerft AG as a civilian fishing trawler for F. A. Pust Hochseefischerei AG, Wesermünde.

The Code Letters DFCP were allocated,[2][3] as was the fishing boat registration PG 508.

On 1 October 1939, the Kriegsmarine requisitioned the vessel and commissioned it as a Vorpostenboot in the 2 Vorpostenflotille under the designation V 201 Seydlitz.

With the rest of the 2 Vorpostenflotille, Seydlitz operated in the North Sea from 1939 to 1940 and in the English Channel from 1940 to 1944.

The wreck now lies where it was sunk approximately 50 metres (160 ft) below the surface.