Deliberate mistake: The majority of the Japanese planes were actually done-over North American AT-6 Texans and their Navy counterpart, the SNJ.
Midway (1976)
1 deliberate mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Jack Smight
Starring: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, James Coburn, Cliff Robertson, Glenn Ford, Robert Wagner, Hal Holbrook
Continuity mistake: When the American torpedo bomber attacks the first carrier, it gets shot up and flies past the carrier, crashing into the sea, at which point it becomes a single seat fighter.
RAdm. Tamon Yamaguchi: Once, we filled the sky with our aircraft. Now we win or lose with six fighters and ten torpedo planes.
Trivia: The film-makers only had three vintage US aircraft for the production, namely two F4F Wildcat fighters and a PBY Catalina search plane. All of the other aircraft that appear are from either wartime footage or from previous war movies.
Answer: It's shown in the original 4 hour movie. Most of the scenes from the Coral Sea Battle are cut from this version and the battle is referenced, but never really shown.