The Siebelfähre was designed by Friedrich Siebel, owner of a lesser known German aircraft manufacturing company bearing his name. Siebel’s idea was to provide the German army with a much needed easily mass-produced and effective transport vessel for the planned invasion of Britain.

His ferry would be a construction utilising parts of bailey bridges and pontoons, which would make up the two barges connected with each other in a catamaran style by a wooden deck. The vessel was supposed to be powered by aircraft engines and could easily be disassembled and reassembled thanks to its modular construction, allowing for the vessel to also be transported by land.

The idea was met with great enthusiasm from the German military and an order for 400 of these ferrycraft soon followed. The order encompassed more than just one version of the vessel, however. For instance, some versions were specialised to perform anti-air duties and were meant to cover the landing troops from air attacks. These were equipped with light 20mm and 37mm AA guns up to the heavy FlaK 88mm cannon, depending on the version.

However, before all 400 vessels could be made, the Invasion of Britain was cancelled and thus the need for the Siebelfähre also disappeared below the waves. Nonetheless, around 200 of these vessels were still made before the order was cancelled and a majority of them found use in transport and mine-laying operations in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Siebelfähre saw use right up to the end of the war and some vessels continued serving well into the 1960s as civilian ferries.