The third post-war generation of Henschel shunting locomotives was based directly on the second, but used a larger number of standardized assemblies. There were again two- to four-axle locomotives, the engine power of which sometimes overlapped and made it necessary to include the wheel arrangement in the designation.

The DH 360 Ca and DH 500 Ca models were therefore three-axle locomotives with 360 and 500 hp respectively. The weaker variant used a V12 diesel from Henschel that was not turbocharged. The variant with 500 hp received the Mercedes-Benz MB 836 Bb, which already powered the previous series. Overall, the third-generation locomotives were available with 120 to 850 hp, with the three-axle models later also being offered with 700 hp. 

No locomotives of this generation were delivered to the Bundesbahn ex works and customers were primarily found in the mining industry. The DH 500 Ca also found customers in Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Sudan and Ghana. A total of 18 DH 360 Ca and 89 DH 500 Ca were built.