Hornet was commissioned in March 1794 under Commander Christmas Paul. On 26 June 1794 she fired a salute to the King and Queen while they were visiting Portsmouth. Hornet shared with Bellona, America, Severn, and Carysfort in the capture of the Lust en Vlyt on 22 August. On 10 March 1798 the Admiralty published a list of six vessels that Daedalus, under Captain Henry Lidgbird Ball, and Hornet had captured off Gorée: Daedalus and letters of marque Ellis and St Ann shared, by agreement, in the capture of the Quaker (December 1797) and the Ocean (January 1798).