modified short-beam shear (MSBS)test specimen for carbon-carbon (C-C)composites has been developed. This test specimen is based on an earlier comprehensive analytical investigation of the short-beam shear test method. The proposed test specimen is a sandwich construction that consists of a carbon-carbon laminated core and thin, high-strength graphite-epoxy facesheets bonded to the core. The facesheets are loaded in flexure, while the core is loaded in transverse shear. The design restricts the occurrence of premature failures such as delamination per cent particularly at the free edges, facesheet separation, or peel from core surface, and crushing at the loading head. Test specimens were prepared with WCA carbon-carbon laminates and T300 facesheets and tested at TRW and at Southern Research Institute. Test results from both facilities clearly indicate interlaminar shear failure in the carbon-carbon core. Good correlations between MSBS test results and data from other shear-strength measurement methods demonstrated the validity of this oncept as a means for determining interlaminar shear allowables for laminated carbon-carbon composites.