We've all heard of this one as kids in Secondary School. We're all told the Japanese had this plane called the "Zero" fighter that would have bombed Singapore.
The Mitsubishi A6M Type 0 (That's how it got its name) was designed primarily as a fighter aircraft to be used on carriers. It could carry bombs... 2 x 60kg or 250kg for Kamikaze suicide missions.
That is rather punitive when it comes to bomb load. In no way was this plane designed to bomb. It was lightweight, had virtually no armour. You could shoot it down if you had enough riflemen... You can shoot a USN Jet bomber down if you're committed enough, as the Vietnamese found out.
Infopedia says that the bomber aircraft took off from Saigon airbase, which was then in the control of the Imperial Japanese Navy... The Imperial Japanese Navy had only one land-based bomber, the Mitsubishi G4M Betty.
If you've got sharp eyes, you'll notice that the example in the photo has USAF markings. That plane was captured and then flown in US markings for evaluation flights.
I do not know how the Betty can be confused with a A6M Zero... I conclude I remember wrongly what was written in these textbooks.
Trivia: It is interesting to note that the Japanese had nicknames for their planes, and the ones we subscribe to today, don't always follow a format. The Allied aircrews called the Zero the "Zeke" and the Betty was also so-named by the Allies.
The Japanese nickname for the G4M was "Ishikirikko". I think Betty will do fine...
I'm certainly not out to slam the textbooks... I was just rather amused at how a little more digging can make the dreadful lessons come a little more alive... ;)