While Huggins and Blair are discussing Huggins' marital problems, Blair is leaning on the table when the camera shows his face, but he's sitting up perfectly straight when his back is shown.
The type of aircraft being shown varies from shot to shot throughout.
Vought F6U Pirate shown in active squadron service. The Pirate was never used by front-line units due to very poor flight performance.
When the pilots congratulate one another, the actors visibly pause before entering the room, awaiting their cue from the director.
Just after the flight leader calls for a diamond formation, a hovering bird is visible above the cockpit of one of the planes, showing it was parked, and not traveling at jet speed or even actually flying.
Obvious use of stock footage throughout - Several shots are repeated. The type of aircraft shown often varies from shot to shot. During landing sequences, the aircraft carrier changes from USS Essex (CVA-9) to USS Oriskany (CVA-34) and back again several times, as evidenced by the deck or island number. Aircraft on carrier deck frequently seem to appear or vanish suddenly when camera angle changes.
The fighter flown by the MiG pilot in the Korean Conflict pursuit sequence has an identical gunsight and ejection seat as the aircraft flown by the American pilots; it is apparent that all actors are sitting in the same type of airplane, most likely a U.S. Navy Cougar and not a MiG. The U.S. military had a handful of intact MiG-15 jets at the time of filming, but they were generally kept very far from public view, to conceal the fact that the U.S. was actively flight-testing advanced enemy aircraft.
McDonnell FH Phantom shown in active squadron service concurrent with Grumman F9F-6/-7/-8 Cougar and North American FJ-2/-3 Fury. The Phantom (not to be confused with F-4 Phantom II) was withdrawn from front-line service and sent to land-based reserve units several years prior to deployment of Cougar or -2/-3 Fury, and retired soon thereafter.
During the World War II flashback sequence, the fighter pilots are sitting in aircraft with bubble-style canopies during close-ups. However, all fighters used by the U.S. Navy in combat in the Pacific Theater had metal fairings behind the canopy; a few types with bubble canopies were undergoing trials in 1945, but Japan surrendered before they saw action. The actors are likely sitting in a Douglas AD Skyraider, a postwar attack bomber that was the only single-seat prop-powered Navy aircraft in widespread service at the time of filming in 1954.
During several flight sequences of Grumman F9F-6 Cougars flying in formation, the reflection of the pilot holding the camera is visible inside the canopy of the plane used for filming.
When Stingray 8 spots the submarine periscope, he tells the squadron leader that it is located between 4 and 5 o'clock, but he is looking forward and slightly to his left; this would be approximately 11 o'clock. 12 o'clock is straight ahead, 6 o'clock is directly behind, and 4 to 5 o'clock would be behind and to his right.