SMS Crocodill was an ironclad gunboat of the Wespe class built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the 1870s.

The decision was finalized based on the fleet plan conceived by General Albrecht von Stosch, the new Chief of the Kaiserliche Admiralität (Imperial Admiralty), in the early 1870s.

He envisioned a fleet oriented on defense of Germany's Baltic and North Sea coasts, which would be led by the ironclad corvettes of the Sachsen class.

The ship was fitted with a waterline armor belt that was 102 to 203 mm (4 to 8 in) thick, with the thickest section protecting the propulsion machinery spaces and ammunition magazine.

She remained out of service initially, before being commissioned on 20 September for sea trials under the command of Kapitänleutnant (KL—Captain Lieutenant) Emil Freiherr von Lyncker.

Her initial testing was completed by 20 October, when she was decommissioned in Kiel and allocated to the Marinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Sea Naval Station).

[3][5] Crocodill was commissioned for her first active period of fleet duty on 22 April 1884, under the command of KL Ernst von Frantzius.

They carried out unit training over the summer, and they joined the rest of the main fleet for the annual maneuvers in August and September.