[1] He was present in the West Indies during the operations under Commodore John Moore between 1757 and 1758, and then went to St. Helena to escort the homeward-bound trade in the spring of 1759.

He served on the south coast of Brittany that autumn with the squadron under Captain Robert Duff, and was present at the defeat of the French at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759.

[1] Drake then served in the St. Lawrence River with Commodore Swanton in the summer of 1760; with Lord Colville on the coast of North America, and with Sir James Douglas at the Leeward Islands in 1761 during the Invasion of Dominica, continuing there under Sir George Rodney in 1762 during the Invasion of Martinique, when he was moved into the 50-gun HMS Rochester, which he commanded until the end of the war.

Russell was badly damaged in a gale which scattered the squadron, and Drake was forced to return to England for repairs.

[1] He then hoisted his flag in the 70-gun HMS Princessa; took part under Rodney in the operations against the Dutch Islands, including the Capture of Sint Eustatius, and was detached under Sir Samuel Hood to blockade Martinique, where, with his flag in HMS Gibraltar, he was warmly engaged in the Battle of Fort Royal against with De Grasse on 29 April 1781.

[1] In August, with his flag again on Princessa, he accompanied Hood to North America, and commanded the van at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September, with the fleet under Sir Thomas Graves.