French service Hector was launched on 23 July 1755, and commissioned under Captain Vilarzel d'Hélie. In 1757, the vessel departed
Toulon on 18 March, arriving in
Louisbourg on 15 June. Returning to
Brest on 23 November with 5,000 sick aboard, she spread
typhus to the town; the ensuing epidemic caused 10,000 fatalities. She was then decommissioned and stayed in the reserve in Brest. In July 1762, while cruising off
Cap Français, she struck the bottom on a rock. The same spot had been the site of the wreck of on 17 March of the same year. Between 1763 and 1777, she was decommissioned in Toulon. During the
American Revolutionary War, she reactivated, sailing to
Delaware in July 1778. She arrived at Newport on 8 August 1778. On 14 August 1778,
Hector and the 64-gun captured the 8-gun bomb vessel
HMS Thunder. The same day, she also captured the 16-gun
HMS Senegal at
Sandy Hook. In 1778, she was part of the fleet under
Admiral d'Estaing, under Captain
Moriès-Castellet, and
Clavières as
first officer.
Hector then took part in the
Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779 and in the
Siege of Savannah, before returning to Brest, arriving on 10 December 1779. She was
laid up in ordinary at
Lorient on 21 December 1779, before rearming. On 1 September 1780, she departed Brest under
Louis Augustin de Monteclerc for a cruise, returning on 31 December. The year after, she took part in the
Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781, under
Renaud d'Aleins. During the
Battle of the Saintes, from 9 to 12 April 1782, she battled and and was captured. Her captain,
Lavicomté, died in the action.
British service The British took her to
Jamaica, where she was repaired and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS
Hector. She took part in the
action of 5 September 1782, where she was damaged by the frigates and . Much damaged in this action and after suffering the
1782 Central Atlantic hurricane of 17 September, she sank on 4 October 1782. The privateer
Hawke saved 200 of her crew. ==Citations==