The ship remained in reserve for the next seven years, before being struck from the naval register on 15 January 1930. She was then used as a barracks ship for ships' crews in Wilhelmshaven, later being moved to Swinemünde in 1936 and then to Kiel in 1938, by which time the "Reichsmarine" had been renamed as the "Kriegsmarine" (War Navy). She remained there after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. In May 1940, "Arcona" was converted into a floating anti-aircraft battery in Swinemünde, where she was stationed initially. Her armament now consisted of one &lt;a href="10.5%20cm%20SK%20C/32%20naval%20gun"&gt;10.5 cm SK C/32 gun&lt;/a&gt;, four &lt;a href="10.5%20cm%20FlaK%2038"&gt;10.5 cm SK C/33 guns&lt;/a&gt;, two &lt;a href="3.7%20cm%20SK%20C/30"&gt;3.7 cm SK C/30 guns&lt;/a&gt;, and four 2 cm guns. She was later moved to Wilhelmshaven, where she was assigned to Naval Anti-Aircraft Group 233, and she was transferred to Brunsbüttel later in the war. In closing days of the war in Europe, her crew scuttled the ship to prevent her from being captured, on 3 May 1945.