HMS Brilliant (1779)

HMS Brilliant was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Brilliant was first commissioned in July 1779 under the command of Captain John Ford.

Between July 1796 and October 1798 Brilliant's captain was Henry Blackwood. On 27 July, at Tenerife, Brilliant observed the frigates Vertu and Régénérée preparing to sail for Rochefort. At 6, the French frigates sailed and started firing on Brilliant; Régénérée was closing in on her opponent when Vertu, which had sailed large, touched the wind; Régénérée imitated her manoeuver, but lost her mizzen and bowsprit, allowing Brilliant to flee. Vertu gave chase, but could not overhaul her opponent and returned to Tenerife. There, Régénérée replaced her rigging, and both frigates eventually arrived in Rochefort on 5 September.

On 8 September 1800 Brilliant sent the prize Dragon into Plymouth. She was a packet of 14 guns, bound for L'Orient from Guadeloupe and carrying a cargo of cocoa, coffee, indigo and cotton.

On 8 October 1807 Brilliant and HMS Boreas (1808) captured the Danish ships St Hans and Montreal.

Fate
She was broken up at Portsmouth in November 1811.