Z17 Diether von Roeder was one of six Type 1936 destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in the late 1930s. Completed in 1938, the ship spent most of her time training although she did participate in the occupation of Memel in early 1939. At the beginning of World War II in September, the ship was initially deployed to lay minefields off the German coast, but was soon transferred to the Skagerrak where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. In late 1939, the ship helped to laid an offensive minefield off the English coast that claimed seven merchant ships.