Terrible was commissioned on 5 December 1845 under the command of Captain William Ramsay and was first attached to the Channel Fleet. In 1847 she was sent to Portuguese Angola to transport the Portuguese exiles under the leadership of the Count of Bonfim back to Lisbon, as stipulated by the Convention of Gramido.The Times, 22 October 1847 (report of arrival in Lisbon). On 2 January 1850, she ran aground at Plymouth whilst on a voyage from Portsmouth to Lisbon, Portugal. She was refloated and taken in to Plymouth. Subsequently, she served in the Mediterranean.
