 Kaiser participated in the ceremonial transfer of the island of Helgoland from British to German control in the summer of 1890 . She was present during the fleet maneuvers in September , where the entire eight @-@ ship armored squadron simulated a Russian fleet blockading Kiel . The II Division , including Kaiser , served as the training squadron in the winter of 1890 – 1891 . The squadron again cruised the Mediterranean , under the command of Rear Admiral Wilhelm Schröder . Between 1891 and 1895 , Kaiser was rebuilt in the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven . The ship was converted into an armored cruiser ; her heavy guns were removed and replaced with lighter weapons , including one 15 cm ( 5 @.@ 9 in ) , six 10 @.@ 5 cm ( 4 @.@ 1 in ) , and nine 8 @.@ 8 cm ( 3 @.@ 5 in ) guns . Her entire rigging equipment was removed and two heavy military masts were installed in place of the rigging . Despite the modernization , she remained quite slow . Deutschland and König Wilhelm were similarly converted . 
