<p>The plane problem of the stress-strain state of a semibounded body containing a near-surface mode I crack parallel to the boundary surface is studied taking into account the action of the initial (residual) stresses directed along the crack. The method of studying the problem is based on the relations of three-dimensional linearized mechanics of deformable bodies. The analytical research involves the representation of general solutions of the linearized boundary value problem through the harmonic potentials for the cases of equal and unequal roots of the characteristic equation and the use of integral Fourier transforms of these potentials. The problem is first reduced to the paired integral equations, and then to the systems of inhomogeneous Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. Analysis of the asymptotic distribution of stresses near the crack tips is performed, and analytical expressions for the stress intensity factors are obtained. It is concluded that the order of singularity in the distribution of stresses near the crack tips in the problem under consideration coincides with the order of singularity obtained in the plane problem for the half-space mode I crack in the absence of the initial stresses. For highly elastic materials described by different elastic potentials, the dependences of the stress intensity factors on the initial (residual) stresses are calculated. The influence of the interaction effect of the crack and the boundary surface of the body on the stress intensity factors is evaluated. The resonant increase in the values of stress intensity factors is also found when the initial compressive stresses reach certain critical values corresponding to the local loss of stability of the equilibrium state in the vicinity of the crack for the materials under consideration.</p>