Originally ordered for the Dutch Navy from the German A.G. Vulcan shipyard as the Z-3, the ship was taken over by Germany during construction owing to the outbreak of the First World War.

V107 was designed by Stettiner Maschinenbau A.G. Vulcan shipyard as a torpedo boat for the Dutch Navy, as part one in a class of four sister ships (Z-1 to Z-4).

[2] 60 tonnes (59 long tons) of coal and 16.2 tonnes (15.9 long tons) of oil were carried, giving a range of 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) or 460 nautical miles (850 km; 530 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

[1][a] V107 was originally ordered by the Koninklijke Marine (Dutch Navy) as the torpedo boat Z-3 (along with her sister ships Z-1, Z-2 and Z-4), one of four Zeer groot (Dutch: Very large) torpedo boats to be built by A.G. Vulcan in their Stettin, Germany (now in Poland) shipyard.

[2] On the night of 30 April/1 May 1915, V107 and sister ship V108 made a sortie into the Gulf of Riga, reconnoitering the island of Ruhnu and shelling lighthouses.