We study the natural vibrations and the dynamic stability of nearly cylindrical orthotropic shells of revolution subjected to meridional forces uniformly distributed over the shell ends. We consider shells of medium length for which the shape of the midsurface generatrix is described by a parabolic function. Using the theory of shallow shells, we obtain the resolving equation for the vibrations of the corresponding prestressed shell. In the isotropic case, this equation differs from the well-known equation [1] by an additional term, which can be of the same order as the other terms taken into account. We consider shells of both positive and negative Gaussian curvature. We assumed that the shell ends are freely supported. The formulas and universal curves describing the dependence of the minimum frequency, the wave generation shape, and the dynamic instability domain boundaries on the orthotropy parameters, the preliminary stress, the Gaussian curvature, and the amplitude of the shell deviation from the cylinder are given in dimensionless form. We find that in the case of prestresses the orthotropy parameters and the shell deviation from the cylinder (of the order of thickness) can significantly change the least frequencies, the wave generation shape, and the dynamic instability domain boundaries of the corresponding prestressed orthotropic cylindrical shell.
