Braunschweig was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1901, was launched on 20 December 1902, and commissioned into the fleet on 15 October 1904.
The ships were built by Germaniawerft (F 1 - F 6), Kiel, Blohm & Voss (F 7, F 8) and Wilhelmshaven dockyard (F 9, F 10).
The class was built by Germaniawerft of Kiel to their 506d design as the U-7-class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Twelve Type XVIIG of slightly improved design, U-1081 through U-1092, were at the same time ordered from Germaniawerft, Kiel.
The ships' propulsion system consisted of two steam turbines manufactured by the Deutsche Werke and Germaniawerft shipyards, along with four 7-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines built by MAN SE.
On 18 January 1944, Dönitz discussed the new design with Adolf Hitler who expressed his approval, and on 9 March contracts were placed with Germaniawerft of Kiel for construction of a prototype, followed by a further contract for 52 submarines on 28 March.