The Reichsmarine was considered the armed naval force of the Reichswehrministerium (Ministry of the Reichswehr) which was headed by a civilian minister appointed by the Weimar government.

During the 1920s, the German flagship was the battleship Schleswig-Holstein with two naval officers serving as fleet commander, Vizeadmiral Hans Zenker and Konrad Mommsen, between 1923 and 1927.

These commands were in turn responsible for the administration of various German ship classes to include equipment development, vessel deployments, and personnel assignment.

The four type commands were: The Reichsmarine did not maintain traditional at-sea fleets, but instead assigned two geographical areas (known as Marinestation) which oversaw all vessels operationally deployed in the North and Baltic Seas.

The Reichsmarine tried to meet the arms restrictions with secret armament and technical innovations such as the introduction of the pocket battleship.