"erich steinbrinck", named after the commander of the torpedo boat killed during the battle of jutland in 1916, was ordered on 19 january 1935 from blohm & voss. she was laid down at their shipyard in hamburg on 30 may 1935 as yard number b504, launched on 24 september 1936 and completed on 31 may 1938. she was commissioned under the command of "korvettenkapitän" rolf johannesson, later promoted to "fregattenkapitän", who commanded her until january 1942. the ship participated in the august 1938 fleet review as part of the 3rd destroyer division. she participated in the spring fleet exercise in the western mediterranean and made several visits to spanish and moroccan ports in april and may 1939.