Z7 Hermann Schoemann, named after Lieutenant (Kapitänleutnant) Hermann Schoemann,^[​2] was ordered on 9 January 1935 and laid down at DeSchiMAG, Bremen on 7 September 1935 as yard number W901. She was launched on 16 July 1936 and completed on 9 September 1937^[​8]under the command of Lieutenant Commander (Korvettenkapitän) Erich Schulte Mönting. The ship participated in the late 1937 naval maneuvers as part of the 2nd Destroyer Division (2. Zerstörer-Division). She was declared operational in June and transferred to Kirkenes, Norway, the following month. However, continued machinery problems forced her return to Germany in August and repairs that lasted until January 1942.^[​13] Now assigned to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla (5. Zerstörer Flotille), Hermann Schoemann sailed from Kiel on 24 January for France as part of the preparations for the Channel Dash. On the evening of 25 January, Z8 Bruno Heinemann struck two mines laid by HMS Plover^[​14] off the Belgian coast and sank.