The M class were the standard minesweeper (German: Minensuchboot) of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

The vessels were the primary force in Germany's harbor defense command and were organized administratively into minesweeper flotillas.

However, the ships were very expensive and complicated to build, and their oil-fired boilers meant they suffered from the fuel shortages in the later years of the war.

These ships were designed for pre-fabrication and were produced in four versions: Only 18 vessels were completed by the time the war ended.

[7] After the end of the war the surviving ships were allocated to the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union.