She was called Petit Annibal to distinguish her from the eponymous 74-gun Annibal, which was in the same fleet. English-language histories often refer to her as Hannibal for this reason. Admiral the Bailli de Suffren took her into his fleet, and she saw service in his five battles with British Admiral Sir Edward Hughes in 1782 and 1783. She was decommissioned in 1787 and used as a hulk from 1792.