Question: At the end it shows Dick Best coming off the Enterprise with the rank of Lt. Commander when he started the battle with the rank of Lieutenant. Did he get a promotion during the battle?
Midway (2019)
2 questions
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans
Continuity mistake: When the B-26 bombers from Midway attack (aside from being to many as mentioned in another posted mistake) the overhead view of the formation shows the B-26 in the back, middle of the formation hit. Both engines erupt in flames and the bomber starts to drop from the formation. The scene then cuts to the Japanese gunners' perspective, showing the B-26 formation from below. The bomber in the back, middle of the formation is no longer on fire and moments later the B-26 just forward and to the left is hit and the engines start to burn. If this was intended to show an overlap in time of the same scene, as simultaneously viewed from two different perspectives, then the visual effects of the flames, from the Japanese perspective, was applied to the wrong bomber in the formation.
Answer: Good eye! The gunner's seat in the Douglas SBD was on a swivel. The military rating was actually radioman/gunner, and when facing forward, he had access to a suite of radio equipment and a set of basic flight controls! He could actually fly the SBD from the rear seat, although this is never reported to have been necessary in combat.