Why was a Bristol Boxkite called "12A" instead of 13?

Short answer

Because 13 was unacceptable to any pilot of the day: two Boxkites of the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company were numbered 12A and 14, and both flew from Durdham Down in the first public demonstration of the company's activities.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Why was a Bristol Boxkite called "12A" instead of 13?

Replica Bristol Boxkite (G ASPP - BAPC-2), Shuttleworth CollectionAlan Wilson (CC BY SA), vía commons

The company's first aeroplane

The Boxkite, officially called the Bristol Biplane, was the first aeroplane produced by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. The first example was built in a matter of weeks.

A number nobody wanted

Two Boxkites were given the numbers 12A and 14, because 13 was unacceptable to any pilot of the day. Both flew from Durdham Down in the first public demonstration of the company's activities.

Demonstration tours and first contracts

Negotiations with the Russian attaché in Paris, William Rebikoff, produced the world's first government contract for British aeroplanes, signed on 15 November 1910, for eight improved Boxkites with enlarged tanks and three rudders. At the end of November 1910 two Boxkites were shipped to Australia for a promotional tour, and two others were sent to India. Both the Australian and the Indian missions reached their destinations in December. On 14 March 1911, the British War Office ordered four Military Boxkites with 50 hp Gnome engines for the planned Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers, in accordance with a specification submitted on 20 October 1910.