Shortly before the opening of the Trans-Iranian Railway in 1938, Krupp was tasked to design a 2-8-0 and a 2-10-0 locomotive. They had to be fired with oil, with the option to fire coal if necessary. Since the railway was still a new thing in the region, they were designed to be maintained in simple workshops and operated by inexperienced crews. The major part was made up of 49 2-8-0 locomotives.

24 were built by Krupp, 16 by Henschel and 9 by Esslingen. Designated class 41 due to four driving axles and one leading axle, they got the numbers 41.11 to 41.60. With the Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran in 1941, the procurement of German locomotives ended. The German locomotives were repaired, but at the same time British steam locomotives were introduced. It only took two more years until diesel traction was introduced with ALCO RSD-1 locomotives.