Her first commander was Captain Peircy Brett (later Commodore Brett) and she had a complement of 550 crew. Under Brett on 5 June 1758 she was part of the major British raid on St Malo (totalling around 50 ships).[2]
Norfolk emulated her predecessor (HMS Norfolk (1693)) by reinforcing the West Indies, where she escorted a fleet that was transporting vital stores and six infantry regiments to that region.
In September 1758 command passed to Captain Robert Hughes and under Hughes in January 1759 a successful attack was made on Guadeloupe.
Plan of the attack against Basseterre, Guadeloupe by a squadron of Royal Navy ships of war commanded by Commodore Moore on 22 January 1759 - also the encampments of the British. Shows Norfolk