After the start of the Second World War, the construction of all new destroyers was cancelled. Instead, 12 additional destroyers of the 1936A class were ordered. To save material and speed up construction time, some minor internal simplifications and engine modifications were made. This class of destroyers was then designated "Zerstörer 1936A (Mob)".  The 15 cm gun turrets were taken from the already ordered O-class battlecruisers.

The engines caused less problems than those of the previous destroyers, but by the end of the war the remaining ships showed heavy corrosion in the boilers and pipes.

Z31 was the first of this class. She was ordered on 19.09.1939 and laid down about a year later on 01.09.1940. She was launched on 15.05.1941 and commissioned on 11.04.1942. At this time the 15cm twin turret was not available, so the ship was completed with a single 15cm gun.

The ship had an interesting history in terms of its armament.  The original turret was refitted in 1943. In January 1945 the ship was badly damaged in a battle with British cruisers, destroying the twin turret. During the repairs the anti-aircraft armament was increased, while the forward turret was replaced by a single 10.5 cm gun. An interesting detail is that in 1943 the ship was fitted with some experimental IR detection equipment.

During the war Z31 was stationed in Norway and the Baltic Sea, after the war the ship was used by the French Navy as Marceau until 1958.