Pearl Harbor

Factual error: There is an old mahogany speedboat in the movie. The movie is set in 1941, the speedboat is a 1955-1958 Chris Craft Capri.

Factual error: In the scene where Admiral Kimmel is inspecting the crew of the battleship an aide comes up with a message to send some ships to the Atlantic. Admiral Kimmel starts complaining about the orders. No Admiral would ever do this especially in front of enlisted men. In fact he was placed in charge of the Pacific fleet when his predecessor complained about moving the fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor.

Clarence Daugette

Pearl Harbor mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: After Evelyn tells Rafe that she is pregnant, she walks away and leaves him standing by the gas pumps. The camera zooms out and a boom mic comes into view in the upper right hand corner. (02:17:25)

Low Cow

Factual error: For some reason, Danny believes Rafe's story that he's been officially assigned to an RAF Eagle Squadron for "combat training." While almost 7,000 Americans did volunteer to fly for England before Pearl Harbor, these were either as civilians or Americans who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. It was against the law for any citizen to fight for a belligerent power while America was neutral, so Rafe's superiors couldn't have ordered him to fight for Britain, and Danny would have known that.

Pearl Harbor mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Dorie Miller is in the hall of the ship, he is holding a tea or coffee set, on the left side of the screen you can see the hands of the camera focus puller and the wireless focus controller for a brief moment.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Rafe is fighting for Britain his plane gets hit. As it goes down into the water, it is day. Later when they show him swimming out of the plane and to the surface, it is night. (00:41:30 - 01:10:10)

Factual error: In the scene where the nurses walk among the flag-draped coffins after the attack, the nurses are in stylish civilian outfits. Those nurses are all Naval personnel, and once war was declared they were ordered to be in uniform at all times, except when in the privacy of their quarters.

Factual error: When Danny and Evelyn take a joy ride in a P-40, they speak to each other in soft, romantic tones. In reality, they would have had to scream at each other to be heard over the noise of the plane's engine.

Bruce Trestrail

Factual error: The nurses are wearing far too much make up when on duty: bright red lipstick, eyeliner, mascara and blusher expertly applied. Military medical nurses are allowed subtle skin tone make up and surgical nurses none at all. It's always been that way, right back to the 1890s when the British Army first hired nurses.

Factual error: The B-25's used for the Doolittle raid were "B" models, yet a number of aircraft were shown equipped with 50 caliber guns in cheek blisters, a modification that did not occur until the "H" model came out later in the war.

goofyfoot

Factual error: In the first view of Pearl Harbor, just before the nurses are shown in the small transport boat as they arrive at Pearl, you clearly see the Arizona Memorial in the background as the camera pans down from sky to harbour.

Continuity mistake: When Rafe and Evelyn go to the Queen Mary ship and they are rising on the platform, and kissing, one camera shot shows them rising and when they stop the camera does a close up and you can see they are still at the red painted water line indicator. The next shot shows them above it again.

Factual error: Towards the end of the Special Edition DVD there are shots of various ships being blown up. One of these ships is a 1960's British Leander Class frigate being used as a missile target. It's painted a very light grey and has cross markings all along the ship's side.

Factual error: When they show the whole fleet sailing, there is clearly a nuclear submarine out front. It is easily distinguished by its teardrop shaped hull.

Factual error: The P-40s depicted in the movie were later models that were not around during Pearl Harbor. The ones used in filming were probably either P-40Ks, P-40Ms, or P-40Ns instead of the historically correct P-40Bs or P-40Cs that were around at the time of the attack. This is noticeable because the planes in the movie have three guns mounted on each wing while a correct P-40 would have two mounted on each wing and two on the engine cowling.

Continuity mistake: The hangar used in the "Mitchell" Field scene is the same one used later in the film as Clark Field, with the world "Mitchell" removed, leaving only the word "Field."

Factual error: In the beginning of the film, there are scenes at "Mitchell Field" on Long Island, New York. The actual spelling is "Mitchel Field." (00:04:50)

Factual error: When Eveleyn and Rafe are going to the Queen Mary, you can see to the left the modern buildings for the actual New York. (00:24:25)

Factual error: When the MPs drive on to the golf course to alert the commander of the attack, the Jeep they're driving is a Korean War era M-38. (01:24:00)

Factual error: You can't be dyslexic and become a pilot, no matter how good looking you are or how much you impress the nurse. Apart from the literature which you have to be able to read and understand to pass your ground exams you would be unable to read a map accurately. Rafe is not mildly dyslexic. His dyslexia is so severe that he cannot even read an ordinary eye chart.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: I do agree, to some extent, however, in times of war, the military becomes more desperate, so they can waive more things. Normally, my dad wouldn't have been able to join the army, but it was 2004/2005, not long after 9/11, so they were willing to waive his shattered arm. This was also the 1940s, and they didn't have as high standards for soldiers as they do now. I mean, literal children could sneak into the army and somehow no-one would notice. It's also not like Rafe's dyslexia really affected the plot that much, other than the times when he had to read Evelyn's letters or write.

Rafe wasn't trying to get into the Army, which has many, many jobs that can be undertaken by semi-literate people. He was trying to enlist as a fighter pilot in the US Army Air Force, which demanded a very high degree of literacy. Quite apart from map reading, there would have been a number of written exams that he would have to pass, and his dyslexia is so severe that he cannot even read an eye chart. He wouldn't have had a chance.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: I like sub commanders. They have no time for bullshit, and neither do I.

More quotes from Pearl Harbor

Trivia: Despite the numerous historical errors and gaffs in the movie, the only historical "fact" the filmmakers managed to do research on (and admit to supposedly) is that they consulted bottle collectors on what types of bottles to use during the battle scenes to administer blood.

More trivia for Pearl Harbor

Question: Why does Evelyn get a Purple Heart? As far as I understand, the only way to get it, is if you are wounded in combat.

Answer: From Dec 7, 1941 to Sept 22, 1943, the Purple Heart was also awarded for meritorious performance of duty. For wounds, "in combat" is much more restrictive than the actual requirements. Any injury caused directly or indirectly by a hostile foreign agency counts, including friendly fire if it was intended to hit an enemy.

Myridon

More questions & answers from Pearl Harbor

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.