[1] As a result, most French third rate ships of the line were built from a formulaic design with 60 or 64 guns dating back to the 1660s.

She was initially carried a crew of 400 men during wartime and 340 at peace, commanded by six officers, but the complement later rose to 460 and 410 during war and peacetime, respectively.

[10] After her capture on 14 May 1747,[a] Sérieux was sailed to Portsmouth where she was surveyed just over two weeks later, and subsequently purchased by the Board of Admiralty on 19 August for £8 5s per ton.

She underwent refit between from August until the following March at a cost of over £10,000, and was commissioned in November 1747 under the command of Captain William Parry.

[11] In April 1756, during the prelude to what later became known as the Seven Years' War, the Intrepid left Britain as part of a fleet sailing to the Mediterranean under the command of Admiral John Byng.

Intrepid, the sixth British ship from the front, was immobilised early in the fighting when her fore-topmast was hit by enemy fire and destroyed.

Under the command of Captain Edward Pratten, she was recommissioned in June 1757, and sailed with Hawke's fleet until switching to Anson's the following summer.

[17] The following year, she was involved in the Battle of Lagos; a British victory over the a French fleet attempting to escape the Mediterranean.

Intrepid was one of fifteen British ships of the line which helped Admiral Edward Boscawen capture three enemy vessels and destroy two others.

[18] Towards the end of the battle, Boscawen's main aim was to secure the French commander, and so he ordered Intrepid, along with America to seize the enemy flagship, Océan.

As Intrepid had already anchored, she was unable to carry out the orders, which America completed alone, destroying the French flagship and capturing its surviving crew.

[20] Two years later, Captain Jervis Maplesden [fr] commanded her at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, a decisive naval victory over the French, after which she blockaded the Basque Roads.