Factual error: In the last scene, where Chief Ryback is at his captain's funeral, he's in his dress blues, and you can see his rating insignia to see that it is not of a cook (Mess Specialist/MS, now known as "Culinary Specialist/CS"), but that of a Yeoman. While in general, this still matches up with the history of the character (where Krill mentions that he could only be a cook or a yeoman after losing his security clearance for punching out his OIC), he wouldn't be cooking, he'd be doing office work. (01:38:42)
Factual error: When the ship launches the missile to take out the satellite building in Hawaii they shoot a Harpoon missile. The Harpoon is only an anti-ship missile, and can't be used against land targets.
Factual error: Why did they send only one F/A-18 to look for the missing helicopter? There would usually be two - a lead and his wingman. I would have expected a Search-and-Rescue type or maybe even the U.S. Coast Guard.
Factual error: In the last scene, where Chief Ryback is rendering honors to his deceased captain, he is in dress blues, with a gold crow. Since the movie takes place some 2 years after Panama, and Ryback received either non-judicial punishment or a Court Martial at that time for striking an officer, he would have lost his "good conduct" rating, and the crow would have been red.
Factual error: As Strannix and Krill walk down the "Broadway" passageway, they pass through several watertight doors. These doors never extend all the way to the deck, so anyone passing through one would need to exert some small effort to pick their feet up to step over the threshold. There is no evidence of this, and they continue walking through as if the deck were uninterrupted.
Factual error: When the jet fighter is flying by the naval ship, it gets shot down by a CIWS Phalanx system. The control panel used to fire it is not the real control panel.
Factual error: The space amidships where the bad guys are supposed to be moving all those rails out doesn't really exist. Battleships were designed for compartmentation, with the largest interior spaces being the engine rooms. a space like that could fill with water and could easily cause stability problems. also, there was no provision for the 5 inch armor plate which comprises the deck above "broadway." A large open hole in this armor would have left the ship's machinery vulnerable to large caliber enemy fire.
Factual error: Early in the movie a F/A 18 is shot down by the Phalanx CIWS. At the time this movie was made, "Block A" models (shown in the film) could only engage targets that are head-on or close to it. It cannot track and engage a sideways moving target in the manner than it did.
Factual error: After taking the bridge and continuing down to kill the ranking officer, men are ordered to seal a door with a blow torch used for cutting metal, not welding.
Factual error: The video feed form the cruise missile heading for Hawaii shows constant direction changes. If it was fired from way out at sea, it would just fly the direct route to its target, and it wouldn't have to change course a number of times.
Factual error: When Ryback uses a cutting torch to open the locked door and free the six sailors, he (correctly) puts on a pair of goggles first. Jordan Tate, however, just stares at the torch unprotected as he cuts through a thick metal door. While the exposure time that she experiences is fairly short, she never even flinches, and suffers no ill effects. Especially for someone with no experience with such tools, she should be wincing in pain and looking away or squeezing her eyes shut.
Factual error: The color guard at the end during the Captain's memorial has their flags in the wrong order. The American flag is always on the left as you face the color guard.
Factual error: In the scene where Ryback is swimming next to the submarine, it is clear that the water is brown and murky. If the ship is in the middle of the Pacific, the water would be crystal clear.
Suggested correction: While Mobile Bay is the likely location, the Pacific Ocean is certainly not crystal clear all over.
