HMS Meteor was a bomb vessel

Bomb vessel

A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She was previously the merchant vessel Sarah Ann, which the Admiralty purchased in October 1803. She conducted bombardments at Havre de Grâce

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

, the Dardanelles, and Rosas Bay, on the Catalan

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

 coast. She was sold in 1811.

Service

Meteor was commissioned in December 1803 under Commander James Masters. In May 1804 Commander Joseph James replaced Masters. She then participated in the bombardments of Le Havre on 23 July 1804 and 1 August 1804 as part of a squadron under Captain R. Dudley Oliver of . At one point during the bombardment Meteor had to resupply two of her fellow bomb vessels, and with shells and powder. Over two days the bomb vessels conducted over four hours of bombardment, firing over 500 shells and carcasses into Le Havre and setting fires in the town. Meteor shared with the rest of the squadron in the prize money after captured the Shepherdess on 21 July, and after Explosion captured the Postilion on 31 July.

Next, Meteor participated in a bombardment of Boulogne. She also participated is several actions off Boulogne.

On 13 April 1805, Meteor captured the Kniphausen ship Brant. On 30 May 1805, Meteor was in company with when they captured the Prussian sloop Omnibus. The prize money for a seaman was ₤5 9s

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

 10d. This sum would have amounted to about three months' wages for the seamen.

In October Meteor come under the command of James Collins. On 15 November Meteor was in company with the gun-brig when they captured the American brig Venus.

Collins sailed Meteor to the Mediterranean on 10 January 1807. There, Meteor was a member of Admiral Sir John Duckworth's Dardanelles expedition against the Turks

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. She had the misfortune to burst her 13-inch mortar while forcing a passage through the Dardanelles

Dardanelles

The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

, and her 10-inch mortar on the way back. During the action on 3 March Meteor suffered eight men wounded, including one badly.

Although details are missing, Meteor apparently next participated in an attack on batteries and gun-boats in the Bay of Naples.

From about 6 November 1808 on, still under Collins's command, she took part in the defense of the citadel and Trinity (Trinidad) Castle at Rosas Bay in northeastern Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. She was in company with the Third Rate  under Captain John West. Gunfire and bombardment from Excellent and Meteor helped repel several French attacks, and a landing party of Marines and seamen reinforced the Spanish garrisons. The bomb vessel and the Third Rates and arrived later, with the frigate under Captain Lord Cochrane

Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald

Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão, GCB, ODM , styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a senior British naval flag officer and radical politician....

 joining the defense towards the end of November. Despite British assistance, the citadel capitulated to the French on 5 December. Cochrane, seeing that further resistance was useless, blew up the magazines at Trinity Castle and withdrew together with his landing party. In the fighting on 7 and 20 November, eight men on Meteor were wounded, one, a Royal Marine gunner, losing both arms. Meteor also took on board the Spanish governor, who had been wounded.

Meteor sailed to the Dalmatian coast, where her boats cut out a privateer.

Fate

Meteor was paid off into ordinary

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

in June 1810. She was sold on 28 May 1811.