The term stealth aircraft was first introduced to the public in the 1980s and 1990s when the United States Air Force allowed a glimpse of the highly classified F-117A fighter and B-1 bomber. However, these aircraft and the cutting-edge technology involved in their design are the culmination of a process that began during World War I.

That war's top fliers understood the importance of spotting the enemy first and attacking before being detected. The most successful strategy involved maneuvering into the universal blind spot--silhouetted against the sun--before attacking. To make their craft less visible in that position, the Germans covered two of their planes--the Fokker E.1 and the Gotha Bomber--with heavy cellophane skins. Unlike conventional canvas coverings, the cellophane allowed sunlight to pass through the plane. This new material, however, failed to hold up under the stress of flying and was soon abandoned.

By the...