"friedrich ihn", named after the commander of the torpedo boat , who was 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 b503, launched on 5 november 1935 and completed on 6 april 1938. the ship participated in the august 1938 fleet review as part of the 3rd destroyer division. on 23–24 march 1939, "friedrich ihn" was one of the destroyers escorting adolf hitler aboard the pocket battleship as the germans occupied memel. she participated in the spring fleet exercise in the western mediterranean and made several visits to spanish and moroccan ports in april and may.