The submarine was ordered on 28 June 1938 and laid down on 10 April 1939 as K XXV at the Wilton-Fijenoord, Rotterdam. During construction she was renamed O 25, and was finally launched on 1 May 1940. Following the German invasion of 10 May 1940, O 25 was scuttled in the Nieuwe Waterweg near Rotterdam because there was no tugboat available to tow her to the United Kingdom.[2]