The HMS Meteor was a British 12-gun mortar ship of the Hecla class and had two mortars . Like all Hecla-class ships, it was later converted into a research vessel.
In July 1824, the HMS Meteor took part in the blockade of Algiers . On September 13, 1828, Captain David Hope went to Tangier with the HMS Meteor accompanied by the HMS Orestes and the HMS Britomart and demanded the surrender of two merchant ships that were captured by Moroccan pirates. Since the Sultan Mulai Abd ar-Rahman refused, Hope imposed a blockade on the port of Tangier on November 18, 1828, which was only lifted on January 18, 1829.
In 1832 the mortar ship was converted into a research ship, was named HMS Beacon and operated in the Mediterranean region . On March 20, 1833, Captain Richard Copeland and a small Turkish gunboat (5 men crew) succeeded in arresting the infamous pirate Kara Mitzos near Thasos . They also fell into the hands of 160 pirates and seven of their ships. She was handed over to the Greek government, which, however, released her again without conviction. When Copeland captured her a second time, he handed her over to the Pasha of Thessaloniki , who eventually had her executed.
Captains
Commander James Scott, May 4, 1824
Captain David Hope, 1828-1830
Lieutenant James Wolfe, 1830
Captain Richard Copeland, February 4, 1830 - February 1836
Captain Sackett Hope, 1836
Captain Thomas Graves , August 2, 1836 - April 2, 1846
