When Brubaker is in his jet awaiting takeoff on the carrier, his cockpit is open and he is sitting so high that his head will hit the top of the cockpit when it is closed (noticeable in closeups). As his plane is maneuvered into position to takeoff, his cockpit is still open as his plane sits on the right of flight deck, both closeups and far shots show. However, another plane takes off and it is focused upon by the camera.
While over enemy territory during the photo recon and then the strike missions, the pilots talk a great deal over the radio about their location, preparations to attack and even their intentions to return to base... i.e. "air attack concluded". Now, while it's necessary for the movie plot to have these conversations between the characters while in danger, combat pilots in those days NEVER spoke like that while "feet dry" over enemy territory: the enemy would be listening and taking down every transmission while triangulating their position. There were no encrypted radios aboard aircraft like they have now.
In the scenes in sickbay after Brubaker is rescued, both CAG and Forney (A Chief Petty Officer) are seen wearing their hats. This is a horrible breach of Naval etiquette since removing one's hat in sickbay is a sign of respect for the sick or dying.
The aircraft carrier on which most of the action takes place is referenced as the "Savo Island" in this movie as well as the book upon which it is based. However, in reality the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island CVE-78 was a much smaller ship, a Casablanca-class escort carrier, too small to be appropriate for an admiral to use as a flagship. Plus, Savo Island was decommissioned shortly after World War Two, several years before the story takes place. Instead the actual ship used in the movie is USS Oriskany CV-34, an Essex-class fleet carrier which really did participate in the Korean conflict. Several scenes clearly show her ship number "34" on the flight deck.
When Brubaker is waiting to land with little fuel left in his tanks he radios "What about the Hornet?" The USS Hornet was never even close to Korea during the entire war. She was in a New York shipyard getting a significant update and reconfiguration.
Based on the 1953 novel by James Michener, the aircraft flown were actually F2H Banshees, not the more prevalent by 1955 F9F Panthers.
When the CAG jumps the chain of command and speaks to the admiral about the ship's CO using the airwing's AC to assist mooring the ship in Japan, the admiral tells the CAG that there isn't enough room for a tug to fit between the pier and carrier yet when the carrier is approaching the pier (abt 26:01) there is a tug on the outboard side of the carrier assisting it to the pier.
At the very beginning of the movie, an announcement is made that 2 flights will land in 10 minutes. A view of the landing area of the ship is shown full of aircraft. I know those sailors are fast but not fast enough to move all those aircraft in 10 minutes.
In a number of scenes, Holden's character goes from wearing his flight helmet to having his helmet off with no time to freshen up in between. Yet his hair is always perfect after taking off his helmet. In reality it would be a mess from the helmet and sweating.
In several scenes where Forney is flying with a green hat and scarf, when they show actual footage of the aircraft in flight, the pilot is wearing a helmet and goggles and no green scarf.
Early in the film, when Forney approaches Brubaker's crashed plane, Forney tells the pilot of 210 to head back to the aircraft carrier. The pilot of 210 is heard saying "Roger" but his mouth never moves.
In one of the scenes showing March and Holden talking in the Admiral's quarters, the camera frames a little too high and some sort of equipment is seen bobbing up and down above the top of the set.
When Rear Admiral Tarrant is wearing his baseball-style cap, the stars pinned to the front are upside down.