Factual error: During the drag racing part of the film, they show an orange Plymouth lining up to race a red 57 Chevy. When the back of the Plymouth comes into view you can see a Direct Connection license plate with a Mopar logo on it. Chrysler's Direct connection line didn't exist in 1964, and the red white and blue Mopar logo wasn't around until 1972.
Factual error: In the Brighton street scenes the parading air cadets are wearing service issue pullovers. These were not introduced as part of the uniform until the mid seventies. During the sixties air cadets would have been wearing battledress tunics.
Factual error: In the scene where the Warriors are hiding from the Turnbull A.C.'s under the elevated subway they look up at the train that is approaching the station. The train is marked as a "J" train. At that point they are still in the Bronx. The "J" train never runs in the Bronx.
Factual error: In the opening scene that shows San Francisco scenery there is a shot of a large TV tower called Sutro Tower. The film takes place in 1960 and Sutro Tower wasn't built until 1973.
Factual error: Throughout the film the British infantry are armed with carbines. These were intended for issue to cavalry and are much shorter than the infantry issue Martini-Henry rifle.
Factual error: After the turbine trip, Godell says that the reactor water level was "almost up to the steam lines." The fictional Ventana nuclear plant is described as being a pressurized reactor plant and could not possibly have such a problem.
Factual error: All Borstal inmates were subject to the same mandatory haircut of short back and sides, yet many types of hairstyles are shown in the film.
Factual error: When Santini is reporting into Beaufort, he refers to the Marine behind the desk as "sergeant." However, the rank on the Marine's sleeve indicates he is a Master Gunnery Sergeant. Unlike in the Army, referring to any rank other than E-5 as "sergeant" is considered an insult in the Marine Corps, and no Marine would ever refer to a Master Gunnery Sergeant as "sergeant." The proper form of address would be "Master Guns," "Master Gunny" or "Top."
Factual error: The lid Halloran removes before the jump out of the plane is much too small. They wouldn't have made it through the opening with their parachutes strapped on. (01:05:45)
Factual error: Captain Willard recalls back to lunch at General Corman's and we hear Harrison Ford's voice say as he points to a map, "Now he's crossed into Cambodia". The town he's pointing at (Ban Me Thout) and the one above it are in the Central Highlands in the middle of Vietnam and not crossover points anywhere near Cambodia. (01:18:20)
Factual error: According to the novel on which the movie was based, the "40" in the title refers to the number of players on a football team. But by the time the movie was made, football teams had 45 players. The coach even says Nick Nolte was just one of 45 players. So the title of the movie really makes no sense.
Factual error: On the left-hand side of Lucy's front door, you can see a blue and white shield. This is the trademark of the Dutch Heritage organisation, which protects monuments such as old city buildings. These signs did not exist in the 19th Century. (00:48:00)
Factual error: When Dave is "true"ing his wheel, he adjusts one spoke with 3 full turns. That wheel would not be rideable after that much adjustment on one spoke.
Factual error: When Mission Control talks with Challenger 2, the Spacecraft's camera feeds of the Crew are displayed up on two wall-sized TV screens. Between them is the familiar Mercator map of Earth with the ground track of a low-orbiting satellite superimposed. Challenger is nowhere near low orbit: it's out past Mars, in the Asteroid Belt. The middle screen would have a schematic of the ship's interplanetary path.
Factual error: The African American gang the Del Bombers are all wearing Afros. This is 1963 and it would be another 3 years before you would even see these on Black leaders like Eldridge Cleaver and Stokely Carmichael. The only way kinky curly hair was worn back then was very short...later known as a Caeser. Worn any longer would have usually been processed. Some members of the same gang are also wearing open African shirts. These were not available at all until the mid to late '60s and were not worn in the Bronx at all until the early '70s. I think whoever outfitted these guys had the Back To Africa movement confused with the Nation Of Islam which was the only Civil Rights affiliated organization, besides Dr. Martin Luther King's, around at the time and that they wouldn't have belonged to anyway.
Factual error: In 1947, when George is 14 years old his father takes him to the clinic for a physical examination. This is about 18 minutes into the movie. The nurse measures his blood pressure using a cuff that is held on with a "Velcro" hook-and-loop fastener. Velcro wasn't marketed until the early 1960's. [A new DVD was released in 2014. The sound track in this scene was edited and we can no longer hear the sound of the Velcro being unwrapped.]
Factual error: In the opening credits, the camera is making a slow pan across a suburban neighborhood street following a row of houses. In one the driveways is parked a white 1965 Chevy Impala, although the film takes place in early 1963.
Factual error: When they visit "Ireland", presumably the Irish Air Corps aerodrome in Dublin at the time of WWII, all of the staff in the bar at the aerodrome are American servicemen, in neutral Ireland.