The Pearl Harbor (2001) film is an American romantic war movie directed by Michael Bay. In the film, well-known actors like Ben Affleck, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Alec Baldwin. Unfortunately for historians, the film about the Japanese surprise attack on the American navy base contains many historical mistakes.

The attack on the American Pearl Harbor , also known as the Hawaii Operation, by the Japanese Imperial Army took place in the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack caused the United States of America to participate in World War II. The attack was intended by Japan as a preventive action to halt the interference of the US Navy with the military operations of Japan in Southeast Asia. In this region, Japan committed attacks on the colonial territories of Great Britain, the Netherlands and the US. After the attack on the naval base, the US decided to blend in the war because they were attacked on their own territory.

1. Unauthorized squadron members

In the film is the character that Ben Affleck plays at the British Squadron Eagle Squadron. In reality, however, this was not possible, because US military soldiers who were actively employed did not belong to this squadron. The Eagle Squadron was complemented with American volunteers. Citizens were allowed to join the eskadron as soon as they joined the Royal Air Force (RAF). Another error is shown in the movie later. Ben Affleck's Spitfire aircraft contains the letters RF, the inscription of the N. 03 Polish Vecht Eskadron. Here too, little is the case, because he flew into a British plane.

2. War-ships without camouflage color

It is common in wartime that the ships of a country were painted gray, as an attempt to camouflage them against the colors of the oceans they carry. The movie shows that the warrior Queen Mary is very colorful, with the colors red, black and white instead of gray. Another striking detail: The Queen Mary was an English ship that came from Great Britain. It was part of the war for two years. This means that they should have been painted for a long time before the events taking place in the film

3. Long distance radio communication

In the film there is a scene where people in Hawaii listen to the radio bubble between the Doolittle raiders. This is impossible. The first reason is because the aircraft flew apart on different routes and not as a group. In addition, they kept on radio silence, so there was little to hear. The main reason why this scene is not true is because the radios used for communication between aircraft had low power and short range. Long-range communication was performed by each aircraft's radio operator via Morsecode. During that time, voice traffic via the radio at such a long distance was not possible yet.

4. HAWAII tickets

In Pearl Harbor there is a fragment where underground officer Dorie Miller is boxing. As he fights, a sailor is in charge who is betting on the fight. The sailor holds a stack of dollar bills in his hand, with the letter HAWAII printed on the top. Again, this is another historical mistake in the film. The HAWAII-printed bills were introduced only in July 1942 when the US government replaced all currencies on the islands with other printed notes in case the islands would be invaded by Japan. Should they be run by Japanese, the bills would be declared illegal.

5. Marlboro Lights cigarettes and glasses

During the film, the characters Marlboro Lights are smoking cigarettes and Dan Aykoryd wears glasses with rimless glasses. In the 1940s these products were not available at all. Marlboro Lights cigarettes appeared only in 1972 in the US and the rest of the world, almost 30 years after the Pearl Harbor attack. The rimless eyeglasses are also impossible because nylon was rationed during World War II. Nylon is widely used to keep eyeglasses in place in frameless specimens.

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