After the First World War, the three-cylinder freight locomotive G 83 with a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement was developed by shortening the G 12 by removing a boiler section and a coupled wheel set. Since the engine with the third cylinder turned out to be too complex to manufacture and maintain for freight transport, the G 82 with only two cylinders was developed on this basis.
The result was a reliable and robust freight locomotive that shared many similarities with the original G 8 and G 12 and was in between in performance. Production started in 1919 and ran until 1928, which means that the Reichsbahn also had more pieces made. A total of 846 machines were built, five of which were delivered to the Oldenburg State Railway and were equipped with a Lentz valve gear.
At the Reichsbahn, the G 82 were given the new class designation 5620-29 and some were approved for 75 km/h. The last engines on the Bundesbahn were retired at the beginning of the 1960s because they were too slow for main routes and sometimes too heavy for branch lines. They survived longer on the Reichsbahn, and some were still in use after the switch to computer numbers in 1970.
In addition to the German engines, a further 150 were delivered to Turkey and Romania, bringing the total to almost 1,000.
A different design was the G 82 of the Lübeck-Büchener railway, which was based on the Prussian one. However, it was lengthened by about 1.5 meters, which improved its running characteristics. Together with more powerful braking equipment, it was possible from the start to set the speed at 75 km/h and to use the locomotives in front of passenger trains. Eight engines were built, the last of which survived until 1956.