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A series of fatigue experiments on thin-walled tubes under tension and torsion, the experimental results – crack path and crack growth life – are measured and compared. It is observed that the cracks follow a curvature from a tensile to a shear dominated growth with increasing crack length. The results are enforced by the high amplitudes applied to the specimens causing large cyclic plastic deformations and crack growth rates in the order of 10-3 mm/cycle. The non-linear nature of the cyclic deformation has been taken into account by applying a cyclic plasticity model, and plasticity-induced crack closure is captured by a contact formulation. Already for the uniaxial reference case the current limitations in modelling plasticity induced crack closure – a prerequisite for achieving realistic simulation results – have become obvious. Measurements have shown that friction and roughness induced closure processes come up, especially for non-planar crack surfaces, challenge to be met in the future.