Z-43 was commissioned on March 24th, 1944. She was a Type 1936B destroyer. Three ships of this class were commissioned. The rest two were never completed. Type 1936A destroyers were intended to carry their forward guns in a twin turret, but as the twin turrets were not ready in time they initially carried single mounted guns. When the turrets were finally fitted they proved too heavy for the existing structures. Strengthening was added at the bows but this did little to improve seakeeping qualities. For these reasons, the main armament of Type 1936B destroyers reduced back to single mounted 127 mm guns. The efficacy of this change was not proven in high seas as this class only operated in the Baltic and coastal waters.