Her keel was laid down on 16 November 1938 by AG Weser in Bremen as "Werk 968" and she was launched on 15 June 1940 and commissioned on 10 September under the command of Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe.
Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 16 November 1938. After roughly seven months of construction, she was launched on 15 June 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 10 September 1940 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe.