HMS Kent was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 March 1762 at Deptford Dockyard. In 1774, a chest containing perhaps as much as 400 lb (181.4 kg) of gunpowder exploded during saluting, killing eleven and injuring dozens more, and causing the marine drummer sitting on the chest to be blown overboard. The marine reportedly suffered no injuries as a result.In 1775 Kent was briefly under the command of John Jervis. She was sold out of the service in 1784.