On her return voyage she passed Barrabulla (or Barra Bulla), either the sandbank or head on the Hooghli River, on 22 January 1776.

Hillsborough reached False Bay on 21 April, Madras on 19 June, and Malacca on 26 August, and arrived at Whampoa on 27 September.

[3] Collett and Hillsborough left Portsmouth on 27 July 1780,[3] as part of an enormous convoy of 63 merchantmen, including four more East Indiamen, Gatton, Godfrey, Mountstuart, and Royal George.

[3] A frigate flotilla, commanded by Santiago de Liniers and part of the Concepción squadron, captured Hillsborough.

The enemy captured the other 55 merchantmen, including the five East Indiamen and their cargoes worth £1.5 million, and 2,805 prisoners.

It was a blow to British commerce, and especially to the forces in the West Indies, which lost a vast quantity of military stores.