Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet
Wonder Woman did not have the ability to fly when she first debuted. She needed a vehicle. First appeared October 1941 (Action Comics #8), and again January 1942 (Sensation Comics #1). The jet is totally silent, capable of supersonic speeds, and its technology evolved as Diana gained new powers.
The Real Invisible Plane
The “Yehudi Lights” were a counter-illumination camouflage system using mounted lamps to control the surface brightness of an aircraft against the sky, rendering it invisible from below. A principle first identified by a Canadian professor, intended for boats. By 1943 the U.S. Navy was experimenting with aircraft, hoping to approach surfaced submarines before they could dive. Radar made it obsolete before it was ever used.
The footnote in the Navy report explains that “Yehudi” referred to contemporary slang for “the little man who wasn’t there.” Cab Calloway made the phrase famous: Who’s Yehoodi? / The little man who wasn’t there.
Feminist Symbol
The Invisible Jet predates Diana’s flight abilities — it is a feminist symbol of mobility and freedom, a workaround for a limitation imposed by the character’s early mythology. A woman who needed a vehicle, and got one that could not be seen.