The large displacement lateral crushing of type 304 stainless steel pipe subjected to dynamic loading is determined analytically using the finite element method. The analysis considers plasticity@ the material strain rate effect@ and the intermittent contact between the pipe and the loading fixture. Comparisons are drawn between the analytical results and test data obtained from pipe specimens. A literature survey of the available data on the lateral crushing of pipes was performed@ and the resulting information is compared with the results from the program described here.