PT 109

Factual error: Prior to the shakedown cruise as the base is being strafed and bombed by the Japanese planes, the twin engine plane in the scene (perhaps meant to depict a Kawasaki KI45) is a 50's vintage Piper PA-23.

Factual error: All of the PT boats in this film are painted in the same Navy Gray used by larger warships of the US Navy in WWII. However, the real PT 109 and the other PTs in its squadron were painted green in order to better blend into their daytime anchorages or moorings near island jungles. The common green color scheme of this period was designated as "Design 5P" and incorporated Navy Green over a base coat of Ocean Green.

Charles Austin Miller

Other mistake: In the scene in which two Japanese Zero fighters bomb and strafe a PT base, shots of the attacking planes show them carrying no bombs. During the attack, they still drop around 20 bombs anyway, which is considerably more than the actual carrying capacity of the two planes.

More mistakes in PT 109

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.