(For other ships with the same name, see HMS Brilliant.) HMS Brilliant was a 36-gun Venus-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy which saw active service during the Seven Years' War with France. Designed in 1756 and launched the following year, she was one of the first Royal Navy vessels to be built to a classic frigate design with a single gun deck and an emphasis on speed. Her principal focus was as a hunter of French privateers, capturing eight such vessels and sinking two more during her six years at sea. She also performed well against the regular French Navy in the 1760 Battle of Bishops Court and the 1761 Battle of Cape Finisterre, but was less capable when deployed for bombardment duty off enemy ports. Decommissioned in 1763, she was sold thirteen years later to the East India