The ship was built by the De Schelde shipyard in Flushing and was the first submarine in the Dutch navy.

[4] The Royal Netherlands Navy purchased the submarine O 1 mainly to gain experience in the use of the underwater weapons.

[5] The submarine was laid down in Flushing at the shipyard of De Schelde under the name of Luctor et Emergo on 1 June 1904, as it was not yet certain the Dutch navy would purchase the ship.

[4] Since the O1 quickly proved its value during various exercises and one boat was not sufficient to base new tactics and strategies on, the Royal Netherlands Navy ordered five new submarines, which were put into service in the period 1911–1914: the O2 to O5 and the KI.

On 27 March 1908 Prince Henry made a visit to the O 1 while moored in Nieuwediep in Den Helder.