t is somewhat ironic how well-known the XB-19 was in its own time, considering how obscure it has become since. When first flown on June 27, 1941, the Douglas Aircraft Company’s creation was not only the largest bomber in the world, it was also the the largest airplane ever built. The bomber was a top-secret Army Air Corps prototype, but it proved impossible to keep such a gargantuan creation under wraps, and 4,500 people turned out to witness the aircraft’s first flight at Clover Field in. “Biggest Bomber Passes Air Test” read the headline; “Aloft 56 Minutes in Maiden Trip.” Read the article, “Among the spectators were many of the men who worked in the plane’s construction. They cheered wildly as it passed overhead.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally telephoned Donald Douglas to congratulate him on his company’s achievement. The XB-19 became featured everywhere in the media, advertisements and animated cartoons. It even received mention in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s comedy, , in which characters dropped the names of every notable person and institution of the day.
