The Wackiest Ship in the Army

The original name of the boat in the movie was the "Fiesta". She was built in Hong Kong in 1932 entirely of teakwood. She was a 72 foot gaff-rigged schooner and came with a 165hp auxiliary diesel engine, weighed 28 net tons, drew 8 feet of water and could make 7.5 knots under power. She was also equipped with 3 tiled heads (bathrooms), two of them with showers, 1400 gallon fresh water tank, a 19 cubic foot deep freezer, and a 24 cubic foot refrigerator. Prior to the movie the Fiesta was owned by Martin J. Vitousek and his wife the former Beatrice Leiseder. (Source: The San Francisco Chronicle Sept. 14, 1952).

The aircraft that flies Lt. Crandall (Lemmon) from the carrier to his new assignment on the Echo appears to be an S-2 Tracker or its variant, the C-1 Trader. Both planes first saw service in the mid 1950s, several years after the time frame of the movie.

Opening credits: THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY...................IN THE ARMY?

Features Beachhead (1954)