Factual error: John Wayne's squadron lands on Guadacanal as part of the "Cactus Air Force" in August 1942. However, they are flying F6F-3 Hellcats, which were not available, even to the Navy, until the middle of 1943. To top it off, they are painted in a late-war camouflage scheme with late-war markings.
Factual error: All of the Lydia's lieutenants are wearing epauletes on their left shoulders.only lieutenant commanders were permitted to wear one on the left shoulder, while the right shoulder was reserved for captains of less than 3 years' seniority.
Factual error: At the end the narrator talks of "the Honourable" Winston Churchill. He was actually the Right Honourable.