Goofs

The stranded crew had arranged branches in the snow into the shape of a cross so the planes could spot it. Then they rearrange the branches to spell out a message when they fly over. The planes fly over one more time, and the branches are back in the shape of a cross.

Before the plane lands at the beginning of the film, close-ups of the co-pilot looking out the cockpit window shows the plane is encrusted in heavy ice. Medium and long shots show the plane without any ice.

In one group scene, the cup McMullen is holding appears and disappears from his hand during shots.

After the Corsair lands, a shot of the Co-Pilot's yoke, which had been held all the way back as the aircraft rolled to a stop, shows it move forward to the resting position. Immediately afterward, a shot of the Captain shows him relaxing the yoke and letting it move forward. The yokes are interconnected which does not allow them to move independently.

As The Corsair is coming in to land, the Captain calls for "Wheels down." A long shot of the aircraft shows the wheels to already be fully extended. The following shot, which is taken from behind the gear on the belly of the aircraft, shows the wheels extending to the gear down position again.

Hearing an incorrect latitude reading, Dooley says it could put them in Paris, Vladivostok, or Bangor ME, "all on the same latitude". The last two cities are at latitudes 43.1° and 44.8° north, which might be considered roundly the same, but Paris is significantly farther north at 48.8°. As a pilot with experience on Atlantic flights, Dooley would certainly know this.

When Dooley listens for Canadian radio fix in French, he hears an English speaking station ID by "KTRA (i.e., starting with a "K") in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Such a station ID would start with a "W", being east of the Mississippi River..

The aircraft are often shown with the entire side of the aircraft covered in rime ice. Inflight icing doesn't extend very far back on aircraft, especially if it is not clear ice.

Even though the temperature is around -40 degrees, the exhalation vapor of the men is not visible.

When the crewman is lost in the blizzard, you can see some white fabric in the "snowbank" behind him flapping in the wind.

The transport planes are marked "United States Air Force" and have the letters USAF on the underside of the wing. The U.S. Air Force did not become an independent service until 1947.

The US insignia on the fuselage have the red line through the center of the 'wing-portion' around the central star. This was not placed there until post-war ~1947.

After communicating by radio with the Corsair, the other crews returned to base. They told their commander that between the winds and unreliable compasses, they didn't know where they were. Later, they argued whether to fly a new path or return to their previous path; a decision which would require reliable navigation. (Also, why would they NOT fly the same path where they picked up the radio signals previously?)

As The Corsair begins her forced landing on the lake, three crew members - all non-pilots - are standing behind the pilots looking out the windows. Under no circumstances would non-pilots be there. They would be in crash position against the bulkhead in the rear area, not standing in the cockpit.

Early in the movie, after the plane goes down, the pilots are told by Col. Fuller to regroup at 9 AM. Any military officer would say 0900 and not 9 AM.