Inded i was fooled. Props to whoever took this pic. it was very convincing. lol.
That explains the crooked decals and the soot on the muzzle brake. 
Don’t sweat it - one of our esteemed moderators made the same mistake a few years ago.
That is a VERY unusual application of Zimmerit! 
Something just crossed my mind. Would the MG even be mounted (and shield be up) with the loader’s hatches closed? Split loader hatch(es) open fore &aft. It looks like the rear of the MG would block the forward half of the hatch from opening if mounted on the raised shield. I’m thinking , maybe, SOP was loader’s hatches closed, shield stored down (folded forward or rearward?) , MG stored inside. Yes? No? Maybe?
OK now I’m really confused…situation normal. Are we talking about the image published in Panzer Colors 3 (p.21) way back in 1984 credited to Bundesarchiv?
It’s purportedly 1944 Normandy/Hitler Jugend - I know the caption’s likely wrong (wonky lettering more likely black-edged, not red) but is this the “Arnhem” photo being referred to as faked? 
No. @SableLiger originally posted three photos, the middle one captioned as being from Arnhem. That photo has since been removed.
Ken
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There you go, so I’m not going out of my mind…yet. Thanks mate! Phew
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