 Earlier in the war , the German Navy had experimented with converting steamers into seaplane tenders . They were too slow to operate with the fleet , however , and so a faster alternative was needed . By 1918 , the Navy had decided to convert Stuttgart , which was fast enough to steam with the fleet ; conversion work started in February 1918 . The work was done at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven , and was completed in May . As a seaplane tender , her forward and rear 10 @.@ 5 cm guns , and the two rearmost broadside guns were removed , leaving only four broadside guns remaining . Two 8 @.@ 8 cm SK L / 45 anti @-@ aircraft guns were installed forward ; she retained her submerged torpedo tubes . Two large hangars were installed aft of the funnels , with space for two seaplanes ; a third seaplane was carried on top of the hangars . Since Stuttgart could carry only three aircraft , a number which was deemed insufficient to support the entire High Seas Fleet , plans were drawn up to convert Roon into a seaplane carrier as well . Neither ship was ever used operationally . Stuttgart survived the war , and was stricken from the naval register on 5 November 1919 . She was surrendered to the United Kingdom on 20 July 1920 , as the war prize " S " and subsequently broken up for scrap . 
