The problem of a cylindrical shell containing a circumferential through crack is considered by taking into account the effect of transverse shear deformations. The formulation is given for a specially orthotropic material within the confines of a linearized shallow shell theory. The particular theory used permits the consideration of all five boundary conditions regarding moment and stress resultants on the crack surface. The stress intensity factors are calculated separately for a cylinder under a uniform membrane load, and that under a uniform bending moment for values of
0
≤
λ
2
=
[
12
(
1
−
v
2
)
]
1
/
4
0 \le {\lambda _2} = {\left [ {12\left ( {1 - {v^2}} \right )} \right ]^{1/4}}
.
a
(
R
h
)
1
/
2
≤
10
a{\left ( {Rh} \right )^{1/2}} \le 10
and
0
>
a
/
h
≤
10
0 > a/h \le 10
, where
2
a
2a
,
h
h
, and
R
R
are, respectively, the crack length, the thickness, and the (mean) radius of the cylinder. Sample results showing the nature of the out-of-plane crack surface displacement and the effect of the Poisson’s ratio are also presented.