[2] V4[c] was launched from Vulcan's Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin in Poland) shipyard on 23 December 1911 and commissioned on 15 June 1912.

[3] 107 tonnes (105 long tons) of coal and 78 tonnes (77 long tons) of oil were carried, giving a range of 1,190 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,370 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) or 490 nautical miles (910 km; 560 mi) at 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph).

[4] On 28 August 1914, a British force of destroyers and cruisers supported by battlecruisers made a sortie into the Heligoland Bight in order to ambush German torpedo boats on patrol, which caused the Battle of Heligoland Bight.

The Flotilla then turned away to try and escape the trap, but V4's sister ship V1 could not make full speed and was hit several times by British shells before the arrival of the German cruiser Stettin allowed the 5th Flotilla to escape.

[9] At about 03:15 hr CET (i.e. 02:15 hr GMT) the 5th Flotilla was accompanying the German Fleet on its journey back to base when a large underwater explosion, probably due to a floating mine, blew the bows off V4, killing 18 and wounding four.