Phaeton (carriage) Phaeton (carriage) A phaeton (also phaéton) was a form of sporty open carriage popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Drawn by one or two horses, a phaeton typically featured a minimal very lightly sprung body atop four extravagantly large wheels. With open seating, it was both fast and dangerous, giving rise to its name, drawn from the mythical Phaëton, son of Helios, who nearly set the earth on fire while attempting to drive the chariot of the sun. With the advent of the automobile, the term was adapted to open touring cars, also known as phaetons. The
HMS Phaeton (1782) October). Then on 28 December "Phaeton" took the 12-gun "Hazard" in the Bay of Biscay. The next day, the 44-gun "Anson", Captain Philip Charles Durham, with "Phaeton", retook the 20-gun "Sphinx"-class post ship , which the French had captured almost exactly three years earlier. Out of a crew of 276, including 30 passengers of various descriptions, "Daphne", lost five men killed and several wounded before she surrendered. "Anson" had no casualties. On New Year's Day, 1798, "Phaeton" took "Aventure". On 19 February she took the 18-gun "Légère" in the Channel. On 22 March she participated in damaging the 36-gun frigate