After education at Eton College, Richard Howe entered the navy in the fourth-rate HMS Pearl in July 1739. He then transferred to the fourth-rate HMS Severn, one of the squadron sent into the south seas with Admiral George Anson in 1740. The Severn sailed to Cape Horn and then, after encountering storms, returned home in Spring 1742. Howe next served in the West Indies aboard the third-rate HMS Burford and was present when she was severely damaged in the unsuccessful attack on La Guaira in February 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession. He transferred to the third-rate HMS Suffolk, flagship of Admiral Sir Charles Knowles, Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies, in March 1743 and then to the fifth-rate HMS Eltham in July 1743, before being promoted to midshipman on 8 October 1743 and returning to HMS Suffolk later that month. Promoted to lieutenant on 25 May 1744, he joined the bomb vessel HMS Comet and then transferred to the first-rate HMS Royal George, flagship of Admiral Edward Vernon, in August 1745.