Why Anglo-American rivalry did not imply an approaching war

Was an interwar Anglo-American war likely?

Continued industrial cooperation and limited intelligence gathering suggest that war was unlikely, despite both navies retaining contingency plans.

British and American naval industries exchanged managers, designers, and technical knowledge throughout the interwar period. Each navy maintained a contingency plan against the only fleet capable of matching it. Neither side developed the focused intelligence effort that an expected war would have required, while industrial and commercial ties remained useful to both. In this interpretation, the rivalry was chiefly a qualitative competition for prestige, with contingency plans covering a conflict neither side expected.