Goofs for
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) More at IMDbPro »

• Anachronisms: As the bombers fly towards Pearl Harbor they pass over the white cross at Scofield Barracks (Kolekole Pass) which was erected in memory of the people that were about to be killed in the raid.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Many of the US Navy ships visible during the attack on Pearl Harbor were not commissioned until the 1950s and 1960s.
  
  
• Errors in geography: The angle of the sun is incorrect for the time of day and year. This is especially noticeable on the Japanese strike aircraft flying over Oahu toward Pearl Harbor Naval Station itself.
  
  

• Anachronisms: When Col. Bratton and Lt. Cmdr. Kramer walk into the Navy cryptography workroom, the Marine sentry at the door is wearing "modified blues" - a khaki shirt and tie with the USMC dress-blue uniform's red-striped blue trousers. The Marine Corps didn't adopt this uniform until after World War II.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When the captain runs into the building to send the message "This is not a drill," a Pearl Harbor memorial can be seen in the background as he rushes past.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the opening scene of Washington D.C., the building on the left is the Museum of American History which was not built until around 1959.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Early in the attack, one deck officer is shown wearing a "Caravelle" wristwatch with the imprint "Waterproof" on the dial face. Bulova's web site indicates that the Caravelle line of watches was introduced in 1962, some 21 years after the attack.
  
  
• Continuity: When the Ward attacks the Japanese minisub near the entrance to Pearl harbor, the minisub's depth is inconsistent between shots. We see it alternately with its entire sail out of the water, then with just the periscope visible.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When the Japanese planes are launching from their carrier on the morning of the attack, as the 3rd or 4th plane launches against the morning twilight, the head and camera of a cameraman can be seen silhouetted at the bottom of the screen.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Ambassador Nomura is speaking with Secretary Hull, Shogo Shimada's voice is dubbed by Paul Frees. However, when Hull invites Nomura to sit down, you can hear Shimada speak with his own voice and then the dubbing resumes.
  
  
• Continuity: When the first B-17 is being chased by the Japanese fighter, only one wheel is down. In the next shot both wheels are down and in the shot where the plane finally lands only one wheel is down.
  
  
• Factual errors: When the Japanese aircraft are taking off from the carriers to bomb Pearl Harbor, several of the aircraft that would have carried a crew of two or three (representing Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and Aichi D3A dive bombers) are seen with a pilot and without the other crewmembers (gunner, radio operator, etc)
  
  
• Factual errors: The full-scale replica of USS Nevada seen throughout movie has too many 14-inch guns. USS Nevada and USS Oklahoma had 10 14-inch guns (2 3-gun turrets and 2 2-gun turrets, with one of each type turret fore and aft). The full-scale Nevada has 12 14-inch guns as found on later USS Arizona and USS Pennsylvania. The miniature models of Nevada and Oklahoma used in the Battleship Row sequences have the correct number and layout of 14-inch guns.
  
  
• Continuity: When USS Ward commences attack on Japanese midget sub, sub is shown with piece of conning tower missing before Ward hits it with gunfire. As sub is diving after being hit, conning tower is intact.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Incoming Japanese planes fly over a modern microwave tower on a ridge on Oahu.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the band is playing the "Star Spangled Banner" as the attack begins, the audio and video are out of sync at the end. Also, the band appears to have played the song twice.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As Cordell Hull is getting word of the attack over the phone in his office, he's holding the receiver against his cheek, not his ear.
  
  
• Anachronisms: The Japanese aircraft are shown with the national insignia having a white outline around the red "sun". The white outline was not used until 1943.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the shot of the B-17s being towed, the plane has the Cheyenne tail turret. This wasn't introduced until the G-model, which didn't enter service until 1943. At the time of the attack, the E-model was just beginning to enter service.
  
  
• Continuity: The underwater shot of the minisub shows it being very closely trailed by a ship. The following establishing shot shows the minisub behind a ship, with a tow target behind the minisub.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When the Ward fires it's number one mount, a gun control radar antenna mounted right above the gun can plainly be seen. Which is not surprising since the ship used for the Ward is a World War II destroyer escort which has no resemblance whatsoever to the USS Ward.
  
  
• Factual errors: In a scene where Yamamuro is discussing the attack of Pearl Harbor, the bars on his uniform were like the American commanders uniforms. Japanese Commanders wore round medals instead of bars.
  
  
• Factual errors: On the USS Ward, her commanding officer is wearing the gold oak leaf insignia of a lieutenant commander. Her actual commanding officer, W. W. Outerbridge, was only a lieutenant, one grade below what is shown, on the day of the attack. This was reinforced by captain Earle's comment that the skipper was "just a green kid."
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Two P-40 pilots who managed to get airborne are shown in dogfights. When their cockpits are shown in close-up, there is no plexiglass.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When the U.S. Capitol is shown the morning of December 7, 1941 wooded braces were in place for reconstructing the columns of the entrance. This did not take place until 1969, about the time the movie was filmed.
  
  
• Factual errors: E.G. Marshall (Colonel Bratton) and many other officers and soldiers are wearing black neckties. During this time frame they should have been wearing khaki neckties. Keith Andes (General Marshall Chief of Staff of the Army) and many other officers and soldiers are wearing khaki neckties.
  
  
• Anachronisms: The B-17's used in the movie are F and G models. The B-17s arriving from Hamilton Field, California during the attack were a mix of D and E-models.
  
  
• Factual errors: When the American flag is being raised just before the attack, the bugler blows the correct call. However, anyone who raises flags in the military knows that the flag must reach the top of the pole before the bugler finishes. In this scene the flag reaches the top after the bugler has stopped, and the band has started the Stars Spangled Banner. Flags are raised very quickly and lowered slowly.
  
  
• Factual errors: Jeff Donnell was almost 50 when she portrayed "Cornelia," the civilian flight instructor who was conducting a lesson when her plane was surrounded by the first wave of Japanese bombers. The real Cornelia Fort was only 22 on that fateful morning.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The P40s being destroyed clearly show tubular steel framework construction. Actual aircraft had stressed skin construction.
  
  
• Factual errors: Doris Miller was serving aboard the USS West Virginia during the attack. However, he is depicted as being aboard the USS Arizona when it was destroyed by a bomb in the film.
  
  
• Factual errors: Admiral Yamamoto's famous statement regarding Japan's chances in a war America was; "I can run wild for six months... after that, I have no expectation of success." The movie incorrectly shows him saying; "If we must, we can raise havoc with them for a year... after that, I can guarantee nothing."
  
  
• Continuity: Prior to the launch, a hachimaki is presented to the commander of a Japanese Torpedo Bomber. The commander ties the headband over his goggles. Later, still prior to the launch, the hachimaki is now seen beneathhis goggles.
  
  
• Anachronisms: During the scene showing the launching of all the Japanese planes from their carriers on the morning of the attack, there is a shot from a plane looking down at one of the carriers. The carrier is obviously a US Essex-class carrier with a modern angled landing deck modification. The angled landing deck didn't begin to appear on carriers until the mid 1950's, about 15 years after the Pearl harbor attack.
  
  

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