V43 was the first ship in the second batch of six V25-class torpedo boats (V43–V48) ordered from AG Vulcan for the Imperial German Navy on 22 April 1914, as part of the 1914 shipbuilding programme.

338 tonnes (333 long tons) of fuel oil was carried, giving a range of 2,050 nautical miles (3,800 km; 2,360 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).

[6][7][8] On 25 March 1916, the British seaplane carrier Vindex, escorted by the light cruisers and destroyers of the Harwich Force, launched an air raid against an airship base believed to be at Hoyer on the coast of Schleswig.

The raid was unsuccessful, with the destroyer Medusa being badly damaged in a collision (and later having to be scuttled) and German forces, including the 6th Torpedo-boat Flotilla with V43, sortied in response.

[10] The battleships of the High Seas Fleet were deployed in support, with the hope of destroying isolated elements of the British Forces if they tried to intercept.

[12] V44 was part of the 7th Torpedo Boat Flotilla during the inconclusive Action of 19 August 1916, when the German High Seas Fleet sailed to cover a sortie of the battlecruisers of the 1st Scouting Group.

The British Admiralty knew about this transfer due to codebreaking by Room 40, and ordered the Harwich Force of cruisers and destroyers to intercept the German torpedo boats.

he 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.

[3] On 21 June 1919, the German fleet interned at Scapa scuttled itself, but British forces managed to beach several of the ships before they could sink, including V43.

The Treaty of Versailles allocated a battleship, a cruiser and three torpedo boats to the United States as "Propaganda ships", which could be used for a short period of time for experimental purposes or as targets.