SMS Stuttgart was a Königsberg class light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 of the Kaiserliche Marine

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

, named after the city of Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

.

Design

The Stuttgart was one of the three light cruisers whose eighth funnel was 'detached', meaning the distance to the central funnel was greater than that between the middle and front funnels. These cruisers are usually called the Nürnberg class after its SMS Nürnberg

SMS Nürnberg (1906)

SMS Nürnberg, named after the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, was a Königsberg class light cruiser of 3,450 tons laid down in 1905 and launched in 1907. Nürnberg's was similar in both size and appearance to the famous , differing mainly in its uneven funnel spacing. She was armed with ten guns, eight...

 or the Stettin class after the SMS Stettin

SMS Stettin

SMS Stettin was a Königsberg class light cruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine. Laid down at AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard in 1906, she was launched on 7 March 1907, and commissioned on 29 July 1907. The ship served in European waters during World War I, participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in...

, the first such cruiser to enter service, with the Königsberg class proper only consisting of the SMS Königsberg

SMS Königsberg

SMS Königsberg was the lead ship of her class of light cruisers built by the Imperial German Navy. She was laid down in early 1905, launched in December 1905, and completed by June 1906. Her sisters included , , and . The ship was armed with a main battery of ten guns and had a top speed of...

 herself.

1905-1914

She was laid down in 1905 at the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig

Kaiserliche Werft Danzig

Kaiserliche Werft Danzig was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1852, first as Königliche Werft Danzig but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven it was one of three shipyards which produced...

 and launched on 22 September 1906 by Dr Gauß, then lord mayor of Stuttgart. She entered service on 1 February 1908 and her testing was completed on 9 April that year, but the Marine did not have enough men to crew her and she was laid up in reserve for a year. On 16 February 1909 she became an artillery training ship within the Schiffsartillerieinspektion, replacing SMS Nymphe. Over the next five years the Stuttgart remained in the reserve fleet, spending the time entirely on manoeuvres and parades, apart from 1913 when she was sent to help the stricken heavy cruiser SMS Blücher

SMS Blücher

SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser to be built by the German Imperial Navy . She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British s...

.

1914-1920

At the outbreak of war the Stuttgart was at the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig. Put back into full service, on 7 August 1914 she was assigned to the 4th Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet

High Seas Fleet

The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...

 in Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

. Used for screening, reconnaissance and mining operations, in May 1915 she was sent to take part in a German offensive in the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

, where she saw action against Russian warships. She then returned to the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

, before spending more time in the Baltic between October 1915 and January 1916. She then was sent to Wilhelmshaven for a refit.

She fought at as part of the 4th Scouting Group and survived the battle undamaged. On 15 December 1916 she was taken out of service and her crew used to man the new light cruiser SMS Emden. From February to May 1918 the Stuttgart was converted into a seaplane carrier

Seaplane tender

A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

 at Wilhelmshaven, with six of her 10.5mm cannon replaced with two 8.8 cm cannon, enabling her to carry one plane below decks and two on the deck. She recommissioned as such on May 16, 1918 and from then until the end of the war carried out reconnaissance in the German Bight

German Bight

German Bight is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east . To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to...

. She was then taken out of service on 17 December 1918, struck from the navy list on 5 November 1919, sailed to Britain on 20 July 1920 and scrapped there.