The wheel arrangement 2-8-2 was chosen for fast freight trains in order to be able to achieve the required power with an axle load of 18 tonnes. With a driving wheel diameter of 1,600 mm, 90 km/h could be achieved and the axle load of the driving wheels could be changed to 20 tonnes by switching the position of bolts. The boiler pressure was initially 20 bars, but had to be reduced to 16 bars because of the problems with the St 47 K alloy. After the war, the Reichsbahn and the Bundesbahn fitted their class 41 locomotives with new boilers. They were in use in the GDR until 1988. 