Bulldog was the third vessel so named since it was used for a 16-gun sloop, launched by Ladd of Dover on 10 November 1782, made a bomb in 1798, converted to a powder hulk 1801 Breaking completed at Portsmouth in December 1829.

[4] She was then towed to Chatham and was completed for sea on 7 September 1846 at an initial cost of £58,122[5] including the hull at £23,342, machinery at £24,892 and fitting at £8,338.

[Note 1] She was commissioned at Devonport under Commander George Evans Davis, RN on 25 June 1846 for service on the Cape of Good Hope Station.

[13][full citation needed] On 2 June 1860 she was commissioned under Sir Francis Leopold McClintock for ocean sounding for the Atlantic Telegraph.

[15][16] In March 1864 she was commissioned for service on the North American and West Indies Station under the command of Captain Charles Wake, RN.