Corrected entry: A couple of scenes show Japanese planes diving into US carriers. Kamikaze planes never struck until late 1944.
Corrected entry: Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda) is at the hospital visiting Admiral Halsey (Robert Mitchum). Nimitz is asking Halsey who his replacement should be since Halsey is laid up with a skin disease. A jet engine can be heard very clearly in the background.
Correction: Sounded like a single engine prop to me I used to fly them. Definitely not a jet.
I replayed that scene 4 times it is definitely a single engine prop.
Corrected entry: When Hal Holbrook is getting into the back of the admiral's jeep, he has a briefcase in his left hand. The jeep starts to pull away before he can get into his seat. The next shot shows him holding onto the handle with the same hand he had the briefcase in. The briefcase shows up again in a later shot.
Correction: If you look carefully he still has the briefcase in his left hand as he grasps the handle.
Corrected entry: The fighter escort for the Yorktown bombers consisted of only 4 planes, not the many more shown in the film.
Correction: 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;.
Corrected entry: 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.
Correction: 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.
Corrected entry: 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.
Correction: Vindicators were used at Midway and did attack the Japanese Fleet. They were flown by Marines off of Midway island.
Corrected entry: The maps and ship markers used by the Japanese navy are written in both Japanese and English.
Correction: 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.
Corrected entry: Captain Garth's spectacular crash is in a Korean War Naval Jet (an F9F Panther) and not the Wildcat he should have been flying. BTW, the pilot of the jet walked away without a scratch.
Correction: Captain Garth was flying an SBD Dauntless during the battle. The Wildcat was a single-seat fighter.
Correction: The intent of the original error is the movie splices in Korean war footage of a jet crashing to depict Capt. Garth crashing in a WW2 propeller driven aircraft. As such this is a valid error.
Correction: Planes diving into US ships doesn't make them kamikaze planes, who are specially fitted to be a flying bomb. They just had a damaged plane and decided to sacrifice themselves to hurt their enemy, even American pilots did that.
lionhead