[en] Welds are often loaded under a high degree of plane strain. The crack initiation and crack growth at elevated temperature of a weldment under a high degree of plane strain was investigated. The weldment consisted of a central axial weld of type 308 stainless steel with controlled residual elements in a type 304 stainless steel plate. The length of the weldment was less than the width and the heads were reinforced to reduce the stress and to prevent lateral strain. Thus the degree of plane strain was highest at the heads and decreased towards mid-length. For this axial weld specimen, the weld metal, the heat affected zone (HAZ) and the base metal are all loaded in parallel so that the axial deflections are the same. The life for the weld metal at the stresses employed is about eight times that of the base metal. The purposes of the rupture tests performed at 1100⁰F (593⁰C) were to determine the strain for crack initiation and to study the factors which influence the crack growth rate. (Auth.)