In the beginning, Ryan's wounded P-38 is an unpainted aluminum color, but when the German officers arrive at the wreckage, the plane is now olive drab.
When the prisoners are getting off the train for the first time in Rome to get food and water, in one scene it shows the German commander's private train car already attached to the end of the train. However a few scenes later it shows a rail-yard worker helping to guide the passenger car into place and coupling it to the last boxcar of the train.
During the final scenes when Ryan is fighting the German pursuers, his rank is clearly visible on the shoulders of his leather jacket. When lying on the tracks after being shot, they are gone.
In the train station where the Gestapo agents follow the characters back to the train, Von Klemment is able to open the window shade behind him just as the Gestapo men are passing by. The window faces out the right side of the train. In the next scene, the Gestapo men approach the train car from the left side of the train. They should have boarded the car from the right.
When the men are hiding in the ruins, Col.Ryan is walking around checking on the troops. As he walks towards the camera he is clearly smoking and holding the cigarette in his right hand. The camera then switches to a close up of his body and his hands and the cigarette is gone. In the next shot he is finishing the cigarette and tossing it on the ground.
All of the German soldiers carrying MP38/40 sub-machine guns (including all of the guards on the train) were wearing the wrong ammo pouches. The MP38/40 fired 9mm pistol ammunition from a 32-round detachable box magazine. The soldiers were all wearing cartridge pouches designed to hold 5-round stripper clips of 7.92mm ammunition for a bolt-action Mauser rifle. This means none of the Germans carrying sub-machine guns had any ready ammunition available once they fired the 32 rounds in their only magazine. This is a common mistake in WWII TV shows and movies.
After Italy's surrender is announced, it is claimed that Battaglia is now a civilian, not an army officer. This is incorrect and the characters would have known his proper (and unchanged) status. Although it surrendered, Italy continued to be a country, with a proper government and military forces. Battaglia would have been an officer in a non-belligerent (but untrusted) military.
Sunbeams cannot shine simultaneously into the boxcar from opposite sides.
As the train is passing through Rome, it looks as if the train is passing alongside the Forum. No trains run next to the Forum.
Colonel Ryan insists on being saluted by Major Battaglia when he is brought into the POW camp. However, according to the Geneva convention, Ryan would be obligated to salute Battaglia, since, as camp commandant, he is technically senior to all of the Allied POW's. Naturally, Battaglia would be expected to return the salute in keeping with military courtesy.
A German Soldier mentions in German that the train is going to "Oesterreich" (Austria). From 1938-1945 Austria was a part of Germany and while its official name during that period was "Ostmark" instead of "Oesterreich," many Austrians (and some Germans) continued to refer to the territory by its original name.
During the attack on the train by the Messerschmitts, the prisoners on top are shooting at the aircraft with MP40s, a weapon that fired pistol rounds. As such, the 9mm rounds wouldn't have the range to even reach the aircraft, let alone damage them. However, the prisoners would have tried to fend the aircraft off with whatever weapons they had.
Luftwaffe pilots are supposed to be flying ME-109s, but in fact they are flying Messerschmitt ME-108 Taifuns. The Taifun was a liaison/training aircraft, not a fighter, but its resemblance to the ME-109 made it a reasonable stand-in for the film.
When Ryan is inspecting the prisoner's escape supplies, he picks up and examines a bottle. The top of the label lists "Mepacrine", an anti-malarial drug. Looking through the bottle, you can see compressed powder tablets. However, if you read the detail in the label, it lists the contents as an aqueous suspension (i.e. - a liquid product). Beyond that, the contents of the bottle are described as being female hormones ("Estrogenic substances consisting mainly of Estrone"), which would be of limited use to male prisoners trying to escape, as the primary listed ingredient causes nausea and vomiting when given to men. It would seem likely that the prop department was having a laugh with this one, as the label is on screen for under two seconds and is not easily read beyond the large print name at the top, without being able to pause the film.
In the prison camp, the Italian soldiers are carrying German MP-40 submachine guns and Mauser 98 rifles. In reality, they would have carried Beretta MAB 38 submachine guns and M91 Carcano rifles. The MAB 38 was the standard-issue Italian submachine gun of World War II. The M91 Carcano was the standard-issue Italian army battle rifle.
Major Von Klemment uses a shard of glass to cut the rope binding his hands, but the gap in the loosely tied rope is clearly big enough to slip his hand out of it.
Colonel Ryan orders the prisoners to remove their clothes and burn them. However, Private Ames starts undressing before the order is given.
After the uniforms of the POWs are burned, new clothes are issued to them. All prisoners appear to get the exact same uniform they had before, specifically, Maj Fincham has the same style shirt as before - wearing it with at least 2 buttons undone. Others around him are wearing different style shirts. Replacement uniforms would all have come from the same source, possibly even Great Britain.
After a straight piece of track in front of the train is destroyed, they remove a curved piece from behind the train to replace it. This piece becomes straight after it's brought forward.
When the rear boxcars are on fire after the air raid Ryan orders his men to "cut loose the box cars". Yet in later scenes the rear coach car is still attached at the rear..
When arriving to Florence (Firenze), the guards stay on the roof of the train, despite there are overhead wires. While they may not be under current due to wartime conditions, the POWs can't tell this. Staying on the roof is therefore foolish and very dangerous.
When the German Captain is on the phone to Bologna station, the words "ridiculous" and "alright" are misspelled in the captions "A shipment for Fieldmarshal Goering? This is ridiclous!" and "Allright, I'll check it."
A German officer uses a transistorized bullhorn to address the prisoners on the train. The transistor was not invented until 1947.
As the Padre begins to type the change orders for the train to be re-routed, he says (in German) the date of 11 Sep 1941. The U.S. was not involved in the war until December 1941. The year should have been 1943.
As the Padre is typing the order to change the routing of the train, he is using an American-made Underwood typewriter. This was a common office model in the 1950s in the U.S., but definitely not in use by the Germans in WW II. The German military would have used a Siemag or Adler pre-war model.
The markings on the wings of the crashed P-38 in the opening scene of the movie are incorrect markings that weren't used in World War II, as they were not adopted until 1947 by the United States Air Force. US Airplanes in 1943 would have used the markings without the red stripes in the bars of the roundel insignia. The red stripes were not adopted until 1947.
When the train is passing through Rome by the Vatican, modern cars can be seen in a fluent traffic at the intersection on the left down the viaduct.
When the Milano train station's control room board lights come back on, the shadow of the camera is visible on the left as the camera is moved towards the German officer on the phone trying to get the Luftwaffe Commander.
The map shows the Passo Maloja in Italy before the Swiss border, but this pass was and is in Switzerland.
Steam locomotives in Italy don't seem to produce soot and sparks. The guards posted on the roof would've been in a terrible position and could hardly even breathe all the way. But they at least had protective glasses. The POWs sneaking up on them from behind would be blinded by the smoke and the sparks. The same goes for the German officers who peek over the roof of the locomotive at the end of the movie: they would've gotten a ton of soot right in their faces.
There are multiple scenes with a large group of the POWs sneaking silently, but in reality this would be impossible. One such scene is when they're tiptoeing along the tracks: the rocks would make a lot of noise, no matter how cautious they were. Another example is when they sneak up on the resting German guards on the roof of the train cars. Some people are even jumping but make no noise.
When taking over the train they shot and killed the German Major's aide on the rear porch of the train. No one notices the blood that would be there.
When the fighters are attacking the train the flight leader gives a hand signal to dive and attack. Though common in World War I, this would not have been necessary in World War II as all aircraft had radios. Also, it would be hard for pilots in fighter planes to see such a signal from a closed cockpit at the speed they were flying at.
When they remove the dead German officer from the rear platform of the Pullman car, the "corpse" visibly moves and almost completely sits up to help.
The German major takes it very well that he was just knocked unconscious with the butt of an MP40. He wakes up as if he only took a brief nap and doesn't even have a headache. In reality he'd have a serious concussion and could barely speak. A common mistake in 1960's movies.
Gabriella manages to manoeuvre her hands to a position where she can cut the rope binding Major Klemment's hands with a piece of broken glass.
However, from this position it would have been far easier for her just to untie the knot.
However, from this position it would have been far easier for her just to untie the knot.
When Gabriella runs away across the railway tracks, Ryan shouts her name. However, he is never told what her name is.