Launched in 1915, she served through the rest of the war, taking part in the Battle of Jutland and operations in the Baltic.

252 tonnes (248 long tons) of fuel oil was carried, giving a range of 1,605 nautical miles (2,972 km; 1,847 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) and 1,270 nautical miles (2,350 km; 1,460 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

[11] At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916, S50 was part of the 12th Half-Flotilla, 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, again operating in support of the I Scouting Group.

They were fired on by the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron at about 21:52 CET and turned away, with S50 being hit by a British six-inch (152-mm) shell, which although it did not explode, knocked out one of her boilers and reduced her speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

The pre-dreadnought battleship Pommern was sunk with the loss of all hands by a single torpedo from the British destroyer Onslaught in this attack.

[15] In January 1917, the 6th Flotilla was transferred to Flanders to reinforce the German torpedo boat forces based in the Belgian ports.

The British set six light cruisers, two flotilla leaders and sixteen destroyers to intercept the eleven German ships, deploying them in several groups to make sure that all possible routes were covered.

Her captain decided to proceed independently to Zeebrugge, but ran into four British destroyers (Milne, Simoom, Starfish and Surprise) off the Schouwen Bank shortly after 05:00 CET.