Very nice , a couple there I hadn't seen before . That 1st picture gives a nice turret top view which when blown up shows it didn't have a loader's hatch, at least that's what I see . I would think the dead guy had no part in the destruction of the tank , unless he was killed by another tank / troops while running away , he's way out of Pfaust range for that Sherman . Might have build the tank in 1/35 as Bronco and a couple of other companies have single link track sets that would work as fire damaged , in 1/56 , not a chance
Ripley, I apologize for not being clear about your hatch question in my earlier post, yes, the tank had no loader hatch, it was a remanufactured early turret. There was some debate on the old missing lynx site as to whether the pistol port was welded shut too.
About the dead guy, there is a concrete or stone ledge he may have been hiding behind up ahead and then tried to run back across and behind the ledge using it for cover before bolting away from the area and behind the stands. But someone hit him from behind and he fell backwards after being hit? On the last picture if you look at the ledge below the standing GIs it certainly appears high enough for someone to take cover behind it, maybe 2-3 foot high? He/she lays about 50 yards from tank and the maximum listed range for the panzerfaust was 100 meters. Also, judging by the thin forearm, (the boots don’t look very big) my guess is this German soldier was very young, like a teenager or very thin from malnutrition. The forearm just looks so thin almost feminine.
The tank was hit on the right rear directly behind the gas tanks (very small hole) but appears to have burned all the way to the front. My theory (a lot of theories and speculation here) is that the tank caught fire and the crew managed to bail out. Then the tank then burned for a long time and completely after the ammunition lit up. I think the right sponson floor directly under the ammo racks is blown downwards too but hard to tell from the photos, it could just be a shadow. According to someone on missing lynx there was color film footage (british pathe documentary?) of the wreck and that most of the olive drab had been burned clean off the tank creating a very rusty range of colors on the bare metal.
This tank would not have had wet stowage even with the remanufacturing of the turret and add-on armor. The sand bags were blown clean off the right side as they took the brunt of the blast the jet then penetrated thru all that and entered the engine compartment. The co-driver hatch appears partially opened but was directly under the gun so hopefully the co-driver found another way out. On the right side hull only a couple pieces of sand bag frame remain welded on the vehicles side. A large section of the frame sits right next to the tank on the grass. On the left the tank burned as well causing the sand to fall to the ground next to the suspension as the sand bags were consumed in the blaze. But the sand armor brackets look intact on that side. The tank features North African style rack over the engine deck and air filter armor covers. It clearly had rubber block track, my guess either T48 or T51