In the mid 1930s two artillery training ships were built to drill the gunnery personal of the Kriegsmarine. Although the Brummer was primarily designed as an AA gunnery training ship, it was also fitted for mine laying, its intended primary duty during wartime.

In addition, the Brummer was also used as an experimental ship for the high pressure steam turbine systems designed for the German destroyers. The propulsion system of the Brummer showed no major design flaws, therefore the destroyers got an almost identical system - but there it proved to be not very reliable at all.

The Brummer took part in "Operation Weserübung",   the Invasion of Norway and was torpedoed by the British submarine Sterlet at Jutland on 14.04.1940, sinking the next day.