Uzi submachine gun 

"Uzi" redirects here. For other uses, see Uzi (disambiguation).
Uzi

The Uzi
Type Submachine gun
Place of origin  Israel
Service history
Used by See Users
Wars Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, Sri Lankan Civil War, Portuguese Colonial War, South African Border War, Rhodesian Bush War, anti-guerrilla operations in Colombia and the Philippines
Production history
Designer Uziel Gal
Designed 1948
Manufacturer Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, Norinco, Lyttleton Engineering Works (under Vector Arms), RH-ALAN, Ka Pa Sa State Factories
Produced 1950
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight 3.5 kg (7.72 lb)
Length 650 mm (25.6 in) stock extended, 470 mm (18.5 in) stock collapsed
Barrel length 260 mm (10.2 in)
Cartridge 9x19mm Parabellum, .22 LR, .45 ACP, .41 AE
Action Blowback
Rate of fire 600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity ~400 m/s (1,312 ft/s)
Feed system 10 (.22 and .41 AE), 16 (.45 ACP) 20, 32, 40 and 50-round box magazines
Sights Iron sights

The Uzi (Hebrew: עוזי‎, officially cased as UZI) is a related family of submachine gun carbines. Smaller variants are considered machine pistols. The first Uzi submachine gun was designed by Uziel Gal in the late 1940s. The prototype was finished in 1950, and initial service issue began in 1954. Over its service lifetime, the Uzi was manufactured by Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, and other manufacturers.

Contents

Design

Overview

The Uzi uses an open-bolt, blowback-operated design. It and the Czechoslovakian series 23 to 26 were the first weapons to use a "telescoping" ("overhung") bolt design, in which the bolt wraps around the breech end of the barrel (Hogg 1979:157-158). This allows the barrel to be moved far back into the receiver and the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip, allowing for a heavier, slower-firing bolt in a shorter, better-balanced weapon.

The weapon is constructed primarily from stamped sheet metal, making it less expensive per unit to manufacture than an equivalent design machined from forgings. With relatively few moving parts, the Uzi is easy to strip for maintenance or repair. The magazine is housed within the pistol grip, allowing for intuitive and easy reloading in dark or difficult conditions, under the principle of 'hand finds hand'. The pistol grip is fitted with a grip safety, making it difficult to fire accidentally. However, the protruding vertical magazine also makes the gun awkward to fire when prone.

When the gun is decocked, the ejector port closes, preventing entry of dust and dirt. Though the Uzi's stamped-metal receiver is equipped with pressed reinforcement slots to accept accumulated dirt and sand, the weapon can still jam with heavy accumulations of sand in desert combat conditions when not cleaned regularly.

Design drawbacks

The Uzi has been criticized for its open-bolt design. Open bolt, blowback firearms tend to have reduced accuracy, because as the trigger is pulled, the bolt slams forward and hits the breech, interfering with the shooter's aim. Since the bolt is held to the rear when cocked, the receiver is more susceptible to contamination from sand and dirt ingress. The open bolt design does expose the breech end of the barrel, and may improve cooling during periods of continuous fire.

Operational use

The Uzi gun was designed by Major (Captain at the time) Uziel Gal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The weapon was submitted to the Israeli army for evaluation and won out over more conventional designs due to its simplicity and economy of manufacture. Gal did not want the weapon to be named after him, but his request was ignored. The Uzi was officially adopted in 1951. First introduced to IDF special forces in 1954, the weapon was placed into general issue two years later. The first Uzis were equipped with a short, fixed wooden buttstock, and this is the version that initially saw combat during the 1956 Suez campaign.1 Later models would be equipped with a folding metal stock.

The Uzi was used as a personal defense weapon by rear-echelon troops, officers, artillery troops and tankers, as well as a frontline weapon by elite light infantry assault forces. The Uzi's compact size and firepower proved instrumental in clearing Syrian bunkers and Jordanian defensive positions during the 1967 Six-Day War. Though the weapon was phased out of frontline IDF service in the 1980s, some Uzis and Uzi variants were still used by a few IDF units until December 2003, when the IDF announced that it was retiring the Uzi from all IDF forces.2

In general, the Uzi was a reliable weapon in military service. However, even the Uzi fell victim to extreme conditions of sand and dust. During the Sinai campaign of the Yom Kippur War, IDF army units reaching the Suez reported that of all their small arms, only the 7.62mm FN MAG machine gun was still in operation.

The Uzi proved especially useful for mechanized troops needing a compact weapon, and for infantry units clearing bunkers and other confined spaces. However, its limited range and accuracy in automatic fire (approximately 50 m) could be disconcerting when encountering enemy forces armed with longer-range small arms, and heavier support weapons could not always substitute for a longer-ranged individual weapon. These failings eventually caused the phaseout of the Uzi from IDF forces.3

The Uzi was also used in various conflicts outside Israel and the Middle East during the 1960s and 1970s. Quantities of 9 mm Uzi submachine guns were used by Portuguese cavalry, police, and security forces during the Portuguese Colonial Wars in Africa.

Worldwide arms sales

Total sales of the weapon to date (end 2001) has netted IMI over $2 billion (US), with over 90 countries using the weapons either for their armed forces or in law enforcement.

Variants

Recent models of Mini-Uzi and Micro-Uzi are fitted with closed-type bolts.4

Caliber variants

Most Uzis fire the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, though some fire .22 LR, .41 AE, or .45 ACP. Caliber conversions exist in .40 S&W and 10 mm auto [2].

Available magazines include 20-, 25-, 32-, 40-, and 50-round magazines (9x19mm Parabellum), 10-round magazines (.41 and .22 LR), and 16-round magazines (.45 ACP). All of the above are manufactured by IMI. Other high-capacity magazines exist (e.g. 50-round magazines and 100-round drums in 9 mm) which are manufactured by companies such as Vector Arms.

Nigerois soldier with an Uzi.

Users

Former users

In popular culture

The Uzi and its variants are some of the most popular submachine guns in the world. Along with the MP5 and MAC-10, they have appeared in many films, TV series, and video games.

Gallery

An Uzi pistol

An Uzi submachine gun

A Mini Uzi

Uzi with suppressor

Uzi with fixed wooden buttstock

Uzi and MP-40

References

Hogg, Ian V. (1979). Guns and How They Work. New York: Everest House. pp. pp. 157-158. ISBN 0-89696-023-4. 

  1. ^ Uzi Lore, History of the Uzi Submachine Gun
  2. ^ CNN.com, Israel's Army Phases out Uzi Submachine Gun http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/17/israel.obsolete.uzi.ap/index.html
  3. ^ CNN.com, Israel's Army Phases out Uzi Submachine Gun http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/17/israel.obsolete.uzi.ap/index.html
  4. ^ "Mini-Uzi and Micro-Uzi specifications". Twenty-First Century's Small Arms, MBI Publishing. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  5. ^ Uzi Submachine Gun. Retrieved on October 28, 2008.
  6. ^ Eesti Kaitsevägi - Tehnika - Püstolkuulipilduja Mini UZI

See also

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Uzi

External links