James Stewart joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, and flew combat missions in Europe. At war's end, he transferred to the Reserve as a colonel. He remained an active pilot in the Air Force Reserve, and was trained on the B-36 and B-47 bombers which he flew in this film. He flew one combat mission over Vietnam in a B-52. He retired as Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart, USAFR in 1968. In 1985 he was promoted on the retired list to Major General (by his friend, President Ronald Reagan), making him the highest ranking member of the military of anyone ever in the acting profession.

The model aircraft seen on Gen. Hawkes' desk in the final scene might appear to be an eight-engine variant of the six-engine B-47 featured in the film, but is actually a prototype B-52 (either XB-52 or YB-52), with a canopy cockpit design similar to the B-47; the design was changed in the production version.

The B-36 and B-47 bomber aircraft showcased in the film were such powerful deterrents against Soviet aggression in the 1950s that neither plane ever had to be used in combat. The B-36 was eventually retired due to persistent problems with its engineering and its fuel distribution to the outer wing, exactly as shown in the movie. The B-47 was being replaced as soon as the last wing was put into service. Both bombers were replaced with the B-52 Stratofortress. It has remained in service for over 50 years and the grandchildren of the original pilots are now piloting the same aircraft which have been meticulously cared for and upgraded over the decades.

Third and final movie where James Stewart and June Allyson played husband and wife. The other two are The Stratton Story (1949) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954).

The B-47 cockpit used in the film is now on display at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, CA.

Continuity

When the B-47 takes off for the first time they use rocket assisted take off (RATO) and the rocket ports are clearly visible on the sides of the fuselage. During the flight several shots of the plane show here are no RATO ports.

When getting ready to take off on the practice bombing run in the B47, the tail numbers are large and centered in the tail. In flight, we see small numbers at the top of the wing.

When Colonel Holland shows up at the base after being recalled, and the security guard tells him to wait, the Colonel tells the taxi driver to pull over to the side. There is a blue sedan just to the right of the taxi which starts to move forward along with the taxi. The scene cuts to the taxi pulling over to the right side of the road, and the blue sedan has now disappeared.

When the B-36 is on the end of the runway just before Col. Holland's first flight, the outside shot of the aircraft shows the copilot's hatch still open after it was secured earlier when the copilot was running his checklist.

When Dutch Holland gets in the pickup truck on his way to his aircraft to fly to Kadena (at about 1:32 into the movie), his name tag on his flight suit says "Lt Col". At this time in the story, he has been promoted to "full" Colonel.



Factual errors

When Col. Holland is going for his first ride in the B-36, they taxi to the end of the runway. The AC calls for takeoff power and 100% power on the jets. The camera shifts to the outside of the aircraft and the pitot covers are still in place which would not happen if the aircraft is going to fly.

When Dutch's plane is talking to the Kadena tower, they identify themselves as Kadena Air Force Base. This is incorrect most US Air Force bases overseas that are strictly USAF are referred to as an Air Base (i.e., Kadena Air Base). USAF bases in the 50 states and US territories are referred to as Air Force Bases.

When Col. Holland is approaching Kadena Okinawa he is given an approach heading of 180 degrees. The runways at Kadena run 55 degrees and 235 degrees.



Incorrectly regarded as goofs

When Dutch Holland arrives at the air base gate without a uniform, General Espy tells him he can get one at the "post exchange". "Post exchange" is a US Army term for their military retail store. While it is true that the US Air Force calls theirs "base exchange," this movie takes place in 1955, when the Air Force had only existed for eight years. That means General Espy had been an Air Force officer for eight years, and an Army officer for much longer. He certainly would have spent most of his career saying "post exchange" and it would not be surprising for him to still be in the habit of saying "post exchange."



Revealing mistakes

When the B-36 taxis to a stop after a long flight, the "socks" or gun covers are already on the front 20mm cannons. Also, the bomb bay doors are open and the safety pins are installed - the flags on the pins are clearly visible.

Upon landing at Carswell AFB after the flight to Alaska, the B-36 crosses the runway threshold twice.



Miscellaneous

At one point, Dutch refers to his old aircraft as a B-24, not a B-29 as mentioned earlier in the film (an understandable mistake, since Jimmy Stewart commanded a B-24 Liberator during WWII, flying 29 combat missions).



Errors in geography

The movie features several large and dramatic wall maps that appear to have been crudely painted. The most obvious error is at 1:11 where the map over the general's shoulder shows Scotland as an island north of England.

When the wing is being briefed about the deployment to Japan, Jimmy Stewart addresses them. Some will fly non-stop, others will refuel in Seattle. The pin on the map representing Seattle is actually placed at La Push, WA.

When briefing in Omaha, the USAF loses 2 bomber bases as the map on the wall does not have Michigan's Upper Peninsula on it, thus deleting Kinchloe (Kinross) and K.I. Sawyer AFB's.



Plot holes

When Col. Holland can't move his arm when approaching Kadena, he has the co-pilot work the throttles for the landing. Earlier in the movie, he allowed Rocky to make a landing at MacDill from the back seat, so why didn't he let Leo make the landing at Kadena? Since they were on instruments anyway, it would not have been a problem for Leo to make the landing from the back seat.



Character error

When Holland (James Stewart) is sent to Greenland, he asks his wife, Sally (June Allyson) if she would like for him to bring her back a penguin. Penguins only exist in the southern hemisphere; Greenland is in the northern hemisphere.

After Ike lost his spot promotion to (Major) he still had the oak leaf on his cap when he was in the crashed B-36. He should be wearing the railroad tracks of a Captain.