Tartar was designed by Sir Thomas Slade and based on of 1748, "with such alterations as may tend to the better stowing of men and carrying for guns."
The ship was first commissioned in March 1756 under Captain John Lockhart, and earned a reputation as a fast sailer during service in the English Channel. She made many captures of French ships during the Seven Years' War, including 4 in 1756 and 7 the following year.[1]
| Ship | Home port | Type | Fate | Ref. | |
| August 1756 | Le Cerf | Saint-Malo, France | Privateer, 24 guns & 200 crew | Captured, 23 killed | [2] [3] |
| By October 1656 | Hero | Saint-Malo, France | Privateer, 14 guns & 162 crew | Captured, 1 killed | |
| October 1656 | Le Grand Gideon | Granville, France | Privateer, 22 guns & 215 crew | Captured, 7 killed | |
| October 1756 | Le Montrozier | La Rochelle, France | Privateer, 3 guns & 190 crew | Captured, 58 killed | |
| March 1757 | La Victoire | Le Havre, France | Privateer, 24 guns & 275 crew | Captured, 30 killed | |
| April 1757 | Le Duc d'Aguillon | Saint-Malo, France | Privateer, 26 guns & 303 crew | Captured, 47 killed | |
| May 1757 | La Penelope | Morlaix, France | Privateer, 18 guns & 190 crew | Captured, 14 killed | |
| October 1757 | La Comtesse de Gramont | Not recorded | Privateer, 18 guns | Captured | |
| November 1757 | La Melpomene | Bayonne, France | Privateer, 26 guns | Captured | |
During the peace that followed, the ship sailed to Barbados carrying a timekeeper built by John Harrison, as a part of a series of experiments used to determine longitude at sea.[4] American Revolutionary War
On 9 October, 1776 she was in action on the Hudson River, with and, forced her way upstream, whilst engaging, on either side, the two forts of Washington and Lee.[5] [6] The next day she,, and captured the abandoned Connecticut Navy galley "Crane" in the Hudson River.[7] She destroyed an American vessel off New Jersey 1 April 1777.[8] and capturing the Spanish Santa Margarita of 28 guns off Cape Finisterre on 11 November 1779.
She went on to see further service during the French Revolutionary War. On 14 December the French frigate captured off the island of Ivica the collier Hannibal, which was sailing from Liverpool to Naples. However, eleven days later, Tartar recaptured Hannibal off Toulon and sent her into Corsica.[9] Tartar was part of the fleet under Lord Hood that occupied Toulon in August 1793. With,, and Robust, she covered the landing, on 27 August, of 1500 troops sent to remove the republicans occupying the forts guarding the port.[10] Once the forts were secure, the remainder of Hood's fleet, accompanied by 17 Spanish ships-of-the-line which had just arrived, sailed into the harbour.[11] Tartar was wrecked off Saint-Domingue on 1 April 1797.[3]
