The ships were made from non-metallic components and built by Burmester Bremen.

Several went into service with the Estonian and Lithuanian Navy, as well as the Latvian Naval Forces.

Starting in 1970, 11 vessels of this class were upgraded to Type 331 Fulda-class minehunters.

The remaining five ships were sold by the South African Navy to a private owner in 2009 for conversion into pleasure vessels.

Tubingen was sold in 1997 to Italian industrialist Gian Carlo Bussei and converted to a yacht flagged out of Malta.