Originally Posted by TIN MAN

In addition, I have read that British, Japanese and European piston engines rotated in the same direction whilst US models rotated in the opposite direction.
I don`t know if this was true, I would think it would be dependent on engine manufacturer, rather than something as vague as country of origin.

Rolls Royce designed the Merlin (also manufactured in the US) and replaced it with the Griffon which turned in the other direction. It's very hard to generalise in things aviation as there always seems to be an inconvenient exception! The Griffon lasted longest in service when it employed the contrarotating system.

Another thought, it is supposedly a more natural instinct to break left rather than right in an emergency. Something to do with how the Brain is wired. It was thought that a port island structure would get "smacked" more than a starboard one.