Stuff Tom Clancy didn't know about at the time of writing
Obviously the big one is the F-19 Stealth Fighter in Red Storm Rising is the big "wrong" thing but I think the Alfa's in Red October deserve special attention.
First the size of the Alfa. You never get the impression it is much smaller than the Los Angeles-class. 81ft vs 362 ft. We know it is fast with a noisy reactor and a single screw. That is about all we know about the Alfas in Red October and Red Storm Rising.
The crew of the Alfa is 31. In Red October, when the Politovskiy has its reactor accident it says half the crew was killed before it settled on the ocean floor. 40 men were still alive after it crashed to the ocean floor. So 80ish crew in the books. Also all the crew are either officers or warrant officers no enlisted personnel. I assume the cook would be an enlisted crew member but I couldn't find any direct info other than the original crew complement was to be 13 officers and 1 cook. That just makes the Politovskiy survivor being a cook and the sole enlisted sailor pretty interesting.
Alfas only have one crew compartment. In Red October, during the Politovskiy reactor accident it reads like a regular boat no real difference from the Dallas or Red October when describing the various compartments on the boat, an engine room, reactor space, torpedo room, etc. On Alfa's, everything was controlled from the same compartment thanks to automation. If the book was accurate the reactor mass that melts through the hull wouldn't have been in an area where it could have killed the Chief Engineer and not the rest of the crew.
Oh and the Alfa's have an eject-able rescue capsule. That just would have been cool to see in Red Storm Rising.
The Sub Brief Youtube channel has a great video on the Alfa. I highly recommend.
****Edits. its 81 meters not 81 feet. quite a difference thank you Ferret for pointing that.
**** It is just things I found interesting. Obviously I love the books and read them all the time. I just have no life.