SMS Crocodill (1860)
SMS Crocodill was a steam gunboat of the  built for the Prussian Navy in the late 1850s and early 1860s.

Design

The s came about as a result of a program to strengthen the Prussian Navy in the late 1850s in the aftermath of the dissolution of the  and in the midst of rising tensions with Denmark. In 1859, Prince Regent Wilhelm approved a construction program for some fifty-two gunboats to be built over the next fifteen years, which began with the fifteen vessels of the Jäger class.

Crocodill was  long overall, with a beam of  and a draft of . She displaced  normally and  at full load. The ship's crew consisted of 2 officers and 38 enlisted men. She was powered by a pair of marine steam engines that drove one 3-bladed screw propeller, with steam provided by four coal-fired trunk boilers, which gave her a top speed of  at . As built, she was equipped with a three-masted schooner rig. The ship was armed with a battery of one rifled 24-pounder muzzle-loading gun and two rifled 12-pounder muzzle-loading guns.

Service history
Crocodill was laid down at the Mitzlaff shipyard in Elbing in 1859, and she was launched in late January 1860. Named after the crocodile, the ship was completed later that year, and after conducting her initial sea trials in the fall of 1860, she was moved to Stralsund before being laid up on the island of Dänholm. While out of service, her copper sheathing was removed from her hull so ventilation holes could be cut into the outer planking. Her entire propulsion system, including the masts and the funnel, was removed and a roof was erected over the hull to keep the elements out.

The preservation efforts were not successful, and by the start of the Second Schleswig War in February 1864, Crocodill was found to be badly dry rotted. Temporary repairs to the hull were made to allow her to be mobilized for use as a floating battery to defend Stralsund in the event of a Danish amphibious assault, which did not materialize. After a few months of service, she was again laid up. Crocodill remained in the fleet's inventory for just a short time, before being struck from the naval register on 14 March 1867 and thereafter broken up.

Notes

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Category:Jäger-class gunboats
Category:1860 ships