Sheerness in late November. She remained in commission, still under Pasley, during the Russian Armament in 1791, but when this period of tension also passed without breaking into open war, Bellerophon was sent back to Chatham and paid off there on 9 September 1791. French Revolutionary Wars With the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Bellerophon was commissioned in March 1793, under her former captain, Thomas Pasley. Pasley fitted her for sea and sailed to join the Channel Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe. The Channel Fleet sailed on 14 July, with orders to patrol off Brest in the hope of intercepting and destroying the French fleet based there. While south-west of the Scilly Isles on 18 July, Bellerophon collided with in gale-force winds. Bellerophon lost her bowsprit, foremast and main topmast, and had her figurehead and cutwater smashed, which necessitated putting into Plymouth for repairs. After being repaired, Bellerophon rejoined the Channel Fleet, which by now was patrolling the Western Approaches. She developed a reputation for speed during these duties, and was given the nickname of "The Flying Bellerophon". In September 1793 Howe assigned her to a flying squadron made up of the fastest ships of the line, and gave Pasley command of the squadron, with the temporary rank of commodore. On 27 November 1793, the ships of Pasley's squadron captured the French corvette Blonde. At the time of her capture Blonde was armed with 28 guns and had a crew of 210 men under the command of Citizen Gueria. A subsequent prize money notice listed the vessels that shared in the proceeds as Bellerophon, , , , and . With Pasley now responsible for a squadron, Bellerophon received a new commander in January 1794, Captain William Johnstone Hope, with Commodore Pasley continuing to fly his broad pennant aboard her. For the next five months the Channel Fleet patrolled off Ushant and the Brittany coast. Glorious First of June The Channel Fleet played an important role in the closing stages of the Atlantic campaign of May 1794, when Howe moved out into the Atlantic in the hope of intercepting an approaching French convoy under Admiral Pierre Jean Van Stabel. The main French battlefleet was also known to be at sea, under Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. Howe sent Pasley, recently promoted to rear-admiral, and his flying squadron, consisting of Bellerophon and the 74-gun ships , and , ahead to