HMS Brilliant (1757)

	Brilliant
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Brilliant
Ordered	29 July 1756
Builder	Thomas Bucknall, Plymouth Dockyard
Laid down	28 August 1756
Launched	27 October 1757
Completed	20 November 1757
Commissioned	October 1757
Decommissioned	March 1763
Out of service	1776
Honours and; awards	Participated in:; Battle of Bishops Court (1760); Battle of Cape Finisterre (1761);
Fate	Sold at Deptford 1 November 1776
British East India Company
Name	Brilliant
Owner	Sir William James
Acquired	1 November 1776
In service	1781
Fate	Wrecked 1782
General characteristics
Class and type	Venus-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	70370⁄94, or 704, or 71838⁄94 (bm)
Length	HMS; Overall:128 ft 4 in (39.1 m); Keel: 106 ft 2+5⁄8 in (32.4 m); Indiaman; Overall: 131 ft 7 in (40.1 m); Keel: 105 ft 4+1⁄2 in (32.1 m);
Beam	HMS:35 ft 8 in (10.9 m); Indiaman:35 ft 5+1⁄4 in (10.8 m);
Depth of hold	HMS:12 ft 4 in (3.8 m); Indiaman:12 ft 3 in (3.7 m);
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Boats & landing ; craft carried	23 ft (7.0 m) longboat; 30 ft (9.1 m) pinnace; 24 ft (7.3 m) yawl.;
Complement	240
Armament	Upperdeck: 26 × 12-pounder guns; QD: 8 × 6-pounder guns; Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns;

HMS Brilliant was a 36-gun Venus-class fifth-rate frigate of the British Royal Navy that saw active service during the Seven Years' War with France. She performed well against the French Navy in the 1760 Battle of Bishops Court and the 1761 Battle of Cape Finisterre, but was less capable when deployed for bombardment duty off enemy ports. She also captured eight French privateers and sank two more during her six years at sea. The Royal Navy decommissioned Brilliant in 1763. The Navy sold her in 1776 and she became an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). Brilliant was wrecked in August 1782 on the Comoro Islands while transporting troops to India.

^ ^a ^b "British Fifth Rate frigate 'Brilliant' (1757)". threedecks.org. 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
^ Hackman (2001), p. 71.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cite error: The named reference BL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Gardiner (1992), pp. 67–68.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[brilliant-1] "British Fifth Rate frigate 'Brilliant' (1757)". threedecks.org. 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.

[FOOTNOTEHackman200171-2] Hackman (2001), p. 71.

[BL-3] Cite error: The named reference BL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEGardiner199267–68-4] Gardiner (1992), pp. 67–68.

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History
Brilliant
Great Britain
Name	HMS Brilliant
Ordered	29 July 1756
Builder	Thomas Bucknall, Plymouth Dockyard
Laid down	28 August 1756
Launched	27 October 1757
Completed	20 November 1757
Commissioned	October 1757
Decommissioned	March 1763
Out of service	1776
Honours and awards	Participated in: Battle of Bishops Court (1760) Battle of Cape Finisterre (1761)
Fate	Sold at Deptford 1 November 1776
British East India Company
Name	Brilliant
Owner	Sir William James
Acquired	1 November 1776
In service	1781
Fate	Wrecked 1782
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and type	Venus-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen	70370⁄94,^[2] or 704,^[3] or 71838⁄94 (bm)
Length	HMS Overall:128 ft 4 in (39.1 m) Keel: 106 ft 2+5⁄8 in (32.4 m) Indiaman^[3] Overall: 131 ft 7 in (40.1 m) Keel: 105 ft 4+1⁄2 in (32.1 m)
Beam	HMS:35 ft 8 in (10.9 m) Indiaman:35 ft 5+1⁄4 in (10.8 m)^[3]
Depth of hold	HMS:12 ft 4 in (3.8 m) Indiaman:12 ft 3 in (3.7 m)^[3]
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Boats & landing craft carried	23 ft (7.0 m) longboat 30 ft (9.1 m) pinnace 24 ft (7.3 m) yawl.^[4]^[a]
Complement	240
Armament	Upperdeck: 26 × 12-pounder guns QD: 8 × 6-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns