Continuity mistake: When Frank is getting drunk he spills gin down the front of his vest. A few shots later, just before he collapses, it suddenly dries out significantly. (00:13:20)
Revealing mistake: In the mess, you can see everyone has their food on metal trays and ceramic dishes. Sgt Zale, though, has his lemon pie in a polystyrene dish - so that it doesn't hurt Klinger when he gets it in the face. (00:08:15)
Hanky Panky - S5-E18
Continuity mistake: When Hawkeye is trying to find out whether there is anything going on between BJ and nurse Donovan, a jacket behind him disappears and the other one moves to the other side of him. (00:04:00)
Factual error: When Frank sits down on Margaret's bed, he pulls a single metal star out of his butt. Kelly being a Lt. Gen, he should have (and has, as can be seen in other scenes) a single bar of three interconnected stars, not three single ones. Therefore Frank shouldn't be able to find a solitary star in Margaret's bed. (00:19:00)
Sometimes You Hear the Bullet - S1-E17
Continuity mistake: Frank and Margaret are dancing in her tent when Frank's back seizes up; in the subsequent shots sometimes his arms are around her waist and sometimes around her shoulders. (00:02:30)
Factual error: Another premature mention of Godzilla when Col. Blake announces that night's movie, "Godzilla and the Bobby Soxer". (00:01:57)
Continuity mistake: The mud spots on Lt.Smith's face change from scene to scene. (00:09:45)
Revealing mistake: The first scene is set in the X-Ray room. There is an X-Ray up on a lightbox in the background. Towards the end of episode 14, there is a scene in the O.R. - the exact same X-Ray is visible in the background there as well. (00:45:00)
Factual error: After Radar asks Klinger when his home movies will be ready, Max answers, "Ready whenever you are, C.B." This is the specific punch line to a joke that relates to the actual filming of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 movie The Ten Commandments, which wasn't released until after the Korean War. (00:16:30)
Continuity mistake: Hawkeye is in the Swamp talking with Trapper. Hawkeye leaves and walks past the tent - Trapper is not inside. (00:07:30)
Dear Sigmund - S5-E7
Factual error: Klinger says he would wear Hula Hoops(R) in his ears if it would get him a discharge. For several reasons, he is using a phrase that does not yet exist: 1) Show wise, Klinger will later try to convince Charles to invest in developing a new toy, a hoola hoop like plastic tube, being inspired by Korean children playing, and 2) plastic hoops which came to be called Hula Hoops were only introduced by Whamo in 1958. Setting episode dates is always difficult for MASH, but the Mash Olympics (inspired by the 52 Helsinki games) are still to come so we can say it must be 52. 3) The Hula Hoop trademark was only registered in 1962 to Whamo. No info. as to what name the hoops were marketed under prior to 62, but Klinger is using a term at probably ten years, at least 6 years, before it came into use. (00:04:00)
The Trial of Henry Blake - S2-E8
Continuity mistake: In the scene of Klinger trying to escape from the 4077 on a hang glider, he secures himself into the control frame, but then when he takes off, he's hanging off the frame's bottom bar. (00:10:40)
Continuity mistake: While Klinger is mending the movie, the amount of film on the two reels changes a lot between shots. (00:12:20)
Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys - S7-E21
Deliberate mistake: When Flagg turns out the light to escape. To make that effect they had to freeze a frame and then start again. If you look closely after Flagg turns out the light you can see Hawkeye and the Korean Man on the far right freeze. Then it shows Potter ordering the light back on.
Continuity mistake: When Charles first arrives at the 4077, his scarf changes from shot to shot. It is tucked in neatly, then loose, then tucked in again.
Continuity mistake: In one of the earlier episodes Henry becomes the father of a baby boy; his other two children have been established as Molly and Janey, both girls. In "Abyssinia Henry," Henry get his discharge papers and wanted to call home with the good news. He tells Radar that he will have to wait a while, as his son, Andrew, will be practising his trombone. As Henry only has one son, Andrew has to be the son who was born while Henry was in Korea. Even if Henry was in Korea from the very first days of the war, by the time he left his son can't be any older than 18 months - hardly likely to be playing a trombone.
Continuity mistake: When the chopper carrying the soldier with the wounded back takes off, the sky is cloudy and, even accounting for the poor quality of the film, the weather looks very dull. The shot changes to show Radar, Hawkeye and Margaret watching the chopper leave and it is now bright sunshine. (00:44:20)
Continuity mistake: At lunch, when Frank is getting his own back against Hawkeye, in the long shots of the table the plate of bread is beside Henry and in the closeups it is in front of Trapper. (00:11:30)
Factual error: When reminiscing about Radar's appendectomy, Henry says it took a long time to find because it was behind his secum. The appendix is behind the secum in more than 50% of people, so this shouldn't have fooled a doctor of Henry's caliber. (00:09:00)
Continuity mistake: When Jack delivers the patient to the MASH and when he is taking photos of the operation, there is no wound on his right hand. It only appears when Col.Potter says that he treated it "months ago". (00:04:30)
Answer: The C-42 was a military variant of the Douglas DC-2. Very few C-42's were built, so it's questionable that Potter would specifically have seen that particular model, but, given his military background, it's not entirely unreasonable that he might use the military designation even when the aircraft in question is actually a civilian DC-2.
Tailkinker ★