Douglas's business grew astronomically with the onset of World War II, employing as many as <answer>44,000</answer> people in 1943. To defend against air attack set designers from the Warner Brothers Studios prepared elaborate camouflage that disguised the factory and airfield. The RAND Corporation began as a project of the Douglas Company in 1945, and spun off into an independent think tank on May 14, 1948. RAND eventually acquired a 15-acre (61,000 m²) campus centrally located between the Civic Center and the pier entrance.
How many people did the company employ in 1943?
44,000