An SB2C Helldiver (which was actually a post-Midway era aircraft) coded B-31 is shown preparing for launch, but when it goes into the water ahead of the carrier in a failed take-off it is B-27.
Curtiss SB2C Helldivers are shown in use alongside the Grumman TBF Avengers just prior to and during the Midway portions of the film. The Helldiver was not employed at Midway or prior to it.
The movie shows the torpedo planes attacking the Japanese carriers and sinking them with virtually no losses. In the actual battle, most of the torpedo planes were shot down without inflicting any damage on the Japanese fleet.
Many of the US fighter planes shown in the movie are Grumman F6F "Hellcats." This plane was not used against the Japanese until September 1943. In the battle of Midway, the fighters would mostly have been Grumman F4F "Wildcats."
In one of the early scenes there is stock footage of the carrier. The carrier is shown sailing in reverse with the wake at bow as if it were steaming ahead. It seems that the film is run in reverse.
The film takes place in the months leading up to the Battle of Midway in June, 1942, and the pilots in it fly Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. The TBF was not introduced until just prior to Midway and saw its first operational flights at the battle. During the period in which the film takes place, the pilots would actually be flying Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers instead.
Everything in the film happens before or during the Battle of Midway in June 1942 but all aircraft show the marking scheme adopted a year after Midway. Planes should show red disc in the center of the white star in the National insignia and should show the National insignia on both wings, top and bottom.
It was true that the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was the available torpedo bomber at the time of the Battle of Midway. By the time the movie was made in 1944, the TBD had been withdrawn from not only from service but also the Navy's inventory as well. Simply put there were almost no Devastators in the Navy to be used for filming.
At 50:46, Commander Harper is setting up orders for the aircraft squadrons for the next day. He says "Six SB2Cs...". The Curtiss SB2C was a dive bomber that was still in development at the time of the Battle of Midway. The type is seen in the film. This is due to the fact that a camera crew was the USS Yorktown CV-10 filming background footage for the movie.
The wall-map of the world in the opening scene is wildly inaccurate.