The submarine was built for the Black Sea Fleet, and its construction was accelerated after the outbreak of World War I. Narval took part in raiding Ottoman coal shipping along the Anatolian coast during the war, and was credited with destroying 31 ships for a total of 5,717 gross register tons (GRT), making it the second highest achieving Russian submarine in the Black Sea.

The 1911 naval program approved by the State Duma included the order of six submarines for the Black Sea Fleet, which ended up being three Narval-class boats and three Morzh class.

In the end, a conference led by Navy Minister Stepan Voevodskiy settled the matter by ordering three submarines of each class.

[3] Construction of all three Narval-class submarines began in Saint Petersburg, where they were laid down in December 1911, before being transferred to the shipyards in Nikolayev for the final assembly.

[8][9] In December 1915 Narval experienced engine problems while on patrol near the Bosporus, and underwent repairs from January to April 1916 in Sevastopol.

The submarine crew tried to take one schooner that they captured to Sevastopol, but in bad weather the line connecting it to Narval was cut and it was lost at sea.

[1] During the war, Narval became the second highest achieving Russian submarine in the Black Sea after Tyulen, sinking 31 ships[2] with a total tonnage of 5,717 GRT.

The Central Powers wanted to divide up the ships of the Black Sea Fleet among themselves,[13] and they were also claimed by the Ukrainian People's Republic.

[3] The submarine was then taken by the Germans, and after the end of the war in November 1918 the boat was acquired by the Western Allies and the White Russian forces.