In 1924, the first rail ferry line was established across the English Channel. To enable direct freight traffic between Germany and Great Britain, the Reichsbahn built its own freight wagons for ferry traffic. This included a covered freight wagon that corresponded to the smaller British loading gauge. Furthermore, the wagon could be coupled with the different British braking system.

The wagon was highly standardised, so it had the same running gear as a number of similar freight wagons.

The designation of the wagon was Gfh (from 1943: Gbh) with the generic designation “Trier” (from 1935: “Saarbrücken”). At the DB, the wagon was renamed Gbh 21 (from 1964: Hfk 310). The wagons were taken out of service with the DB by 1968.