Phaeton (carriage) most impressive phaeton was the English four-wheeled high flyer. The mail and spider phaetons were more conservatively constructed. The mail phaeton was used chiefly to carry passengers with luggage and was named for its construction, using "mail" springs originally designed for use on mail coaches. The spider phaeton, of American origin and made for gentlemen drivers, was a high and lightly constructed carriage with a covered seat in front and a footman's seat behind. Fashionable phaetons used at horse shows included the Stanhope, typically having a high seat and closed back, and the Tilbury, a two-wheeled carriage with an elaborate
HMS Phaeton (1782) armed with twenty 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 145 men. She had left Rochefort on 4 March in company with the French frigates "Forte", "Seine" and "Régénérée" and the brig "Mutine", all sailing for the Île de France with troops and military supplies. Stopford took her back to England as his prize. The Royal Navy then bought her in as "Bonne Citoyenne", a Sixth Rate sloop of war. While cruising in the Channel, on 6 March 1797, "Phaeton" took the French privateer "Actif". She was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 120 men. She had