Pretty Run of the Mill WWII Action Flick
These movies were pumped out by the dozens during WWII mostly to get viewers pumped up about issues relative to the war (support the troops, zip your lip, tolerate rationing/don't cheat, and get youngsters to enlist). Most were made in a hurry and are not artistic things of beauty or accuracy. And most carried some sort of eye candy which usually involved a romantic relationship with one of the male stars. This movie has all those.
It is also horribly inaccurate in many areas. With all the military advisors available during the war you would think most errors wouldn't have occurred in the first place and civilians, being very familiar with soldiers and sailors during the war years, would easily recognize errors quickly.
The biggest one of course is that "older guys" like EGR and Edgar Buchanan would have never been drafted or allowed to enlist. If anything they would be restricted due to their work skills (building ships is more exclusive than fighting them) or allowed to enlist in the Merchant Marine for convoy duty.
Second, the entire company of boot camp would not be sent to the same ship. They would be spread out across the fleet so their inexperience could not cripple one ship.
Third, conflicts among shipmates is a pretty rare thing. One whiff of a major confrontation and one of the people would be gone. There simply isn't time or space to put up with frivolity on an American warship as small as a destroyer.
Fourth, had any ship failed sea trials so miserably there would have been hell to pay for the crew of the ship and the yard in which she was built. Heads would roll. All that bragging about how well the JPJ was built went right out out the window and he would have lost all his integrity.
Fifth, one hit forward by a torpedo would have blown the entire front of the ship completely off, probably detonated the magazines and torn the ship to pieces. That's why they are called 'tin cans'. And BTW, 'tin can' is a derisive term because that's about all the defensive integrity they carry. A destroyer is purely an offensive weapon.
Sixth, the attack by the Japanese aircraft would not have been possible without an aircraft carrier nearby. The JPJ was sailing on a mail route which was in an area which the Japanese contested with capital ships, not aircraft carriers. The Japanese planes would not have been flying aimlessly looking for targets at sea - instead they would have been engaged in the battle for the Aleutian Islands (Attu or Kiska).
And last (although there are probably more I didn't pay attention to) is hats. White hats were not worn at sea during WWII because they could be easily seen at night from a long distance. Instead sailors wore ball caps (blue) or dyed "white hats" also dark blue. Also, hats are worn "inside" only by on-duty persons. When a sailor walks into a building and is not on duty they are required to remove their hat. And a Navy man salutes only when wearing a hat. No hat, no salute. This is different protocol than the Army but is the same as the Marines.