The experimental plane Cass demonstrates to the Navy is in fact a Grumman F3F fighter - the last biplane purchased by the U.S. Navy. It entered service in 1936 and was withdrawn from front-line service by the end of 1941 and transferred to training units. Only 147 were built.
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on
October 7, 1940 with George Brent, John Payne and Olivia de Havilland reprising their film roles.
The first aircraft the cadets fly at Pensacola are N3N-1 seaplanes built by the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was first introduced in 1936 and fully retired from service until 1961. A few are still flying in 2015 as aerial agricultural sprayers and in private aviation.
The amphibious aircraft seen when the film shifts to NAS North Island, San Diego, are Consolidated PBYs, later named Catalina. In service from 1936 to 1957, over 3,300 were built by the end of 1945. It was typically armed with 2-4 machine guns and could carry up to 4,000 pounds of bombs or depth charges.
Both William B. Davidson as Brown and Rosella Towne as Agnes are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members for their roles, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie.