Dear Mildred - S4-E7
Continuity mistake: The injured horse that Radar, BJ, and Hawkeye go after, and who's later gifted to Colonel Potter, is played by different horses.
Continuity mistake: In the first episodes, Col. Blake's wife is named Mildred, later her name is changed to Lorraine. (In case of confusion, when Col. Potter came to the 4077th, his wife was also named Mildred, but that's not relevant).
Continuity mistake: In the first season of M*A*S*H, Hawkeye mentions that his father lives in Vermont, in the later seasons his father lives in Crab Apple Cove, Maine and has never left there in 30 years.
Continuity mistake: At one time, Col. Potter talks about how his daughter is an only child. In a different episode, he mentions that his son's wife is having a baby.
Continuity mistake: When Henry, Trapper, and Hawkeye get into the jeep with Radar notice the style of jeep and its number is 16930382, but when they're driving to the chopper pad the style differs ― things such as hood, antenna, etc, and its number is 11172419. Then when the chopper takes off the jeep's style is back to the original jeep they were in.
Continuity mistake: When Hawkeye and Lt. Johnson are sharing Hawkeye's bottle of "wine" there's a closeup of Johnson's hand holding the glass, and in the closeup that hand has short nails, whereas in all other shots Johnson has long nails.
Continuity mistake: There are two sets of the 4077 compound - the outside Fox Ranch set located at Malibu Creek State Park, and the second set inside the studio's Stage 9. The layout of both sets are quite different - Studio 9's set was vastly smaller than the Ranch set, so things such as the proximity of the Swamp to the mess tent are different between the shots filmed at the Ranch and shots filmed at Studio 9, when seen within the very same episodes.
L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel) - S2-E7
Continuity mistake: When Lieutenant Willis wakes up in the Swamp and puts his shirt on he's wearing his dog tags, but when he tosses the papers and puts on the rest of his clothes the dog tags have suddenly vanished, then they reappear, vanish, and reappear again.
Continuity mistake: Right after Radar tells Henry to forget about the game there's an explosion, and when Radar shouts, "More on the way!" everyone ducks and we see Henry's diploma up on the wall, but when it cuts to a different angle the diploma has vanished before the room even shakes or the heater's stovepipe falls.
Continuity mistake: When Radar walks into Henry's office to tell him that there's a general there to see him, we get a good view of Henry's new desk and its beautiful ornate design, but later when Hawkeye and Trapper are carrying the desk and then it's lifted out by chopper it's a completely different desk - also note that this desk has casters.
Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen - S11-E16
Continuity mistake: Early in the episode a tank is driven into the MASH compound by a wounded soldier (demolishing the latrine in the process). The tank is an M24 Chaffee dating from the mid 1940s - it is squat and angular in shape. Later on in the episode after the tank has been hidden under a tent Hawkeye decides to drive the tank into the camp dump (demolishing the new latrine on the way). The tank has changed into an M4 Sherman - it is a lot higher and more rounded in shape.
Continuity mistake: In the pilot episode it says the year is 1950. In the episode "Radar's Report" in season 2 Radar says it's 1951, yet in the episode "A War for All Seasons" in season 9 we are told at the beginning of the episode they are going from 1950 to 1951.
Continuity mistake: In an early episode Hawkeye receives a sweater knitted by his sister. Subsequently in the show he has always been an only child.
Continuity mistake: In the episode "Change of Command", Potter asks Mulcahy if he "can do Methodist". In the episode "Period of Adjustment", Potter asks Mulcahy "You wouldn't lie to a Presbyterian, would you?" Just what denomination *is* Potter?
Requiem for a Lightweight - S1-E3
Continuity mistake: The bag used by Trapper for training is marked "Property of MAJ. Frank W. Burns". However, later in the series Frank's middle name is revealed to be Marion.
Continuity mistake: The psychiatrist is called Milton Freedman in this episode and Sydney Freedman in all other episodes in which he appears (always being played by the same actor - it is the same psychiatrist).
Continuity mistake: When they are talking about taking Sophie for a walk, Roy is sitting on the bunk. His captain's bars & medical insignia are on the wrong sides. After he stands up, they are on the correct side.
Continuity mistake: Radar hangs the hammer on the "Out of Order" sign and it is covering the 'of'. When he and Frank walk away the hammer has moved and is covering the 't' (00:15:20)
Answer: Even an Army field hospital would have SOME weapons for self-defense if the enemy attacked. What's meant is that it's not a combat outfit, and therefore wouldn't have enough weapons to actually attack anyone. (It's also mentioned a few times that the Officer of the Watch is supposed to carry a pistol at all times, but Hawkeye refuses to do it when he's in charge and Colonels Blake and Potter don't enforce the rule).
Captain Defenestrator