The ship was built for the navy in Aalborg Shipyard in Denmark, which has been occupied by Germany since April 1940,Foto des Schiffs beim Stapellauf 1942 as a modified ship of the Eisbär under construction on Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was launched in 1942 and entered service on June 1, 1942. The ship was 61.40 m long and 15.30 m wide, had a draft of 5.90 / 6.30 m and a water displacement of 2090 t (standard) and 2913 t (fully equipped). Two standing triple expansion steam engines with a total of 3200 psi gave a top speed of 12.5 knots over two screws. The armament consisted of two 3.7 cm Flak 37 in single mounts. The crew consisted of 69 men.
