I'm going to be a nuisance here, guys, but are we certain about the Sherman petrol/diesel question ?
According to Chamberlain & Ellis ( 'Profile' M4A3E8 Sherman & 'British & American Tanks of WWII' ) petrol engines were most commonly used in front-line Allied Shermans due to logistical reasons and production difficulties with Diesel engines.
To extract from their research : -
M4 / M4A1 : Continental R-975 Radial ( petrol )
M4A2 : GM 6-71 ( Diesel ) but only used by USMC in Pacific and supplied to Russia/ Lend-Lease (UK?)
M4A3 : Ford GAA V8 ( petrol )
M4A4 : Chrysler WC Multibank ( petrol )
M4A5 : not produced
M4A6 : Caterpillar RD-1820 radial ( diesel ) only 75 produced.
There were over 10,000 A3s and A4s produced so it does look as if there were a lot more petrol than Diesel versions on the battlefield. Certainly British tanks such as the Cromwell were petrol-engined & I'd think that having petrol and Diesel in the same supply-chain could cause problems ?
Has anyone got more info on this ??
I'm actually quite interested as I've always found the Sherman engine question confusing.
