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Several shots identifying the American and Japanese carriers are actually those of late W.W.II and Korean War era Essex-class carriers. See more...

The film-makers only had three vintage US aircraft for the production, namely two F4F Wildcat fighters and a PBY Catalina search plane. All of the other aircraft that appear are from either wartime footage or from previous war movies. See more...

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Midway (1976) - 5 corrections

Directed by Jack Smight, starring Cliff Robertson, Hal Holbrook, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner (add more)

Genres: Action, Drama, History, War

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The fighter escort for the Yorktown bombers consisted of only 4 planes, not the many more shown in the film. [There were six escorting F4f's from VF3/VF42, not four. 1st division, Lcdr. J. S. Thach, Ens. R. A. M. Dibb; Lt. (jg). B. T. Macomber, Ens. E. R. Bassett. 2nd division, Mach. T. F. Cheek, Ens. Dan C. Sheedy;.]

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The Brewster F2A Buffalo and Grumman F4F Wildcat are referred to as "damn relics" by a Marine officer. Actually, they were among the most modern planes available to defend Midway, and much liked by the pilots who flew them. At Midway, the Marines had an insufficient number of fighter planes (27), but not antiquated designs. [The statement did not refer to the age of the F2As (which was fairly new for the 1940's USN) but was a comparison to other aircraft. While the design for the F2A was only 2-3 years old at the time of the Battle of Midway, there where many other designs (mostly from other countries) which out classed the F2A. The late 1930s - early 1940s saw rapid advancement in aircraft design and technology. Anything over 6 months old was rapidly becoming obsolete.]

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The stock footage used for the shots of the American torpedo and dive bomber squadrons on their way to attack the Japanese carriers is actually film, presumably taken during the late 1930s, of Vought Vindicator dive bombers. This type was no longer operating from US carriers by the start of the war. [Vindicators were used at Midway and did attack the Japanese Fleet. They were flown by Marines off of Midway island.]

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The maps and ship markers used by the Japanese navy are written in both Japanese and English. [The English is there for the benefit of those who don't speak or read Japanese. It the same reason all the Japanese characters are speaking English - so the view can follow the movie plot. This is a standard movie convention and not a mistake.]

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Captain Garth's spectacular crash is in a Korean War Naval Jet and not the Wildcat he SHOULD have been flying. BTW, the pilot of the jet walked away without a scratch. [Captain Garth was flying an SBD Dauntless during the battle. The Wildcat was a single-seat fighter.]

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