When our future enemies Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany saw this film no wonder they did not take our war fighting abilities seriously. Our elite pilots, the Naval Aviators in this film are flying the Bi-Plane Grumman F3F. This was in 1940 when all potential Allies and Enemies were flying advanced Mono-Planes! Their 'Spies' must of died laughing while making out their reports after seeing this film.
shareActually, the F3F was on its way out even as this film was being made. Its replacements, the F-2A Brewster Buffalo and the F3F's own direct advanced model, the F4F Wildcat, had their first test flights in 1937. By the time of Pearl Harbor the F3F had been completely replaced in Fleet Squadrons. Spies would certainly have known of these developments and realized the F3F wasn't going to be around much longer.
BTW - the British (Gloster Gladiator) and Soviets (I-15 Chaika) actually had biplane fighters see significant action in the early days of WWII. Additionally, the British employed the Fairy Swordfish biplane torpedo bomber from their aircraft carriers well into the war, with surprisingly impressive results. A Swordfish scored the hit on the rudder of the Bismarck that led to its ultimate destruction, and they devastated the Italian fleet at anchor in the harbor of Taranto in late 1940 (around the time of this film's release), which incidentally served as a model the Japanese would emulate quite effectively the following December in Hawaii.
tiller088; You are well informed, but there is nothing that you have stated that we are not unaware of. It also has nothing to do with how are future enemies viewed the war making capabilities of the U.S.A. Suggest you get some references from 'the other side'. The general over-all contempt felt by the Axis leadership for this Country was overwhelming.
The Gloster Gladiator and I-15 as well as the F-2A and F3F sole purpose was to occupy space and fill the casualty lists. Of course superior replacement Planes where in the pipe-line, but would not have a impact until 1943.
One thing I noticed was that the paintings accompanying the opening and end titles were of monoplanes, yet (with the exception of the monoplane Drake was ferrying to North Island but bailed out of) all the fighters in the movie were biplanes.
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