She had originally been designed as a sailing ship but was converted to screw propulsion while still under construction.

From October to November 1854 by Captain Thomas Sabine Pasley while still at Sheerness.

From 14 February 1855 to April 1857 she was commanded by Captain William Robert Mends as flagship to Rear-Admiral Edmund Lyons commanding the Mediterranean fleet, then chiefly concerned with the Crimean War.

[citation needed] In late December 1855, she sprang a leak whilst on a voyage from the Crimea to Malta and was beached at San Nicholas, Kea, Greece.

From 25 August 1858 to October 1859 she was commanded by Captain Edward Bridges Rice as part of the Channel Squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles Fremantle.