In the last decade or so the theory of shells has undergone a tremendous increase in development. Formerly a subject of interest only to a few special ists and for which the literature was relatively smalI, the needs of structures for aerospace missions instigated a torrent of papers on all facets of the theory which also found application in the less glamorous earthbound shell struc tures important in everyday life. Some idea of the rapidity of the development can be gained from the fact that a bibliography* completed in 1953 listed some 1455 books and papers as the sum total ofthe...