FEED DEVICE WEIGHT (EMPTY) – 20-round 0.16 kg (5.6 oz), 25-round 0.20 kg (7 oz), 32-round 0.22 kg (7.8 oz), 40-round 0.26 kg (9 oz)
FEED DEVICE WEIGHT (LOADED) – 20-round 0.41 kg (14.5 oz), 25-round 0.51 kg (1 lb 2 oz), 32-round 0.61 kg (1 lb 5.5 oz), 40-round 0.74 kg (1 lb 10.2 oz)
BASIC AMMUNITION LOAD – Ten 32-round magazines (320 rounds)
LOAD WEIGHT – 6.10 kg (13 lb 7 oz)
MANUFACTURER – Israel Military Industries (now Israel Weapons Industries), Ramat Hasharon, Israel
STATUS – Out of production in Israel
SERVICE – In service use with Israeli military from 1954 to 2003, Licensed production in Belgium and Burma, military and law enforcement commercial sales worldwide to over 80 countries, Unlicensed production in China and Croatia
In the late 194’s, Israel first became an independent nation. The Israeli military had been armed with a mix of small arms, including a number of underground-manufactured weapons such as copies of various marks of Sten gun. Looking to quickly establish their own independent military small arms industry, a request went out for a new submachinegun design. After a number of foreign patterns had been examined, including prototypes from Czech manufacturers, a young Israeli officer looked at developing a new design. Lieutenant Uziel Gal, called Uzi by those who knew him, had designed and built a prototype weapon and submitted it to Lt. Col Meir Zora in October, 1949. Uzi had taken this action independently of the military’s search for a new submachinegun design.
Uzi’s first submachinegun had been influenced by his experiences with the Sten designs. It had a horizontal magazine sticking out of the left side of the weapon, a long cylindrical receiver and perforated barrel jacket, fixed wooden stock at the end of the receiver, and a central pistol grip below the magazine well. The design functioned well and suitably impressed Lt. Col. Zora who recommended it for further development. Though his first design did not go forward, Uziel Gal had been brought to the attention of the upper command in the new Israeli weapons industry.
Uzi produced a new prototype weapon to meet the needs of the military. In the final style, the weapon had a square receiver made from stamped steel. A pistol grip that incorporated a magazine well as well as having a grip safety was at the balance point of the weapon. The bolt telescoped over the back of the barrel, giving the design a shorter overall length while keeping a long barrel for efficient ballistics. The cocking knob was at the center top of the receiver so that it could be operated with either hand. Later, the design also had a ratcheting system added to the cocking knob so that the bolt was held in place if the knob slipped from the operator’s hand while the weapon was being cocked.
The barrel was easily removable from the front of the receiver, being held in place by a barrel nut on the trunnion. Provision was made for the attachment of a bayonet. A sliding selector switch was on the left side, above the trigger, where it could be moved by the firer’s thumb. Finally, a wooden stock was fitted to the weapon, one that could be easily removed by pressing the latch button on the underside of the stock. Prototypes of the new weapon were ready in 1950, after only six months of work by Uzi and his design team. The design was patented in 1952. After testing and some improvements, the new weapon was adopted by the Israeli military. Announcement of the new weapon was made in May, 1953 and it was considered a very successful design. In 1956, a metal folding stock was designed that became standard issue for the weapon making the original wooden stock something rarely seen today.
The magazines for the Uzi were originally taken from the Italian Beretta 38A designs, modified to fit the new weapon. Though a 40 round magazine was produced for a time, it was not as well liked as the smaller-sized versions. The standard magazine for the Israeli forces for the first decades of the Uzi was the dependable 25-round magazine. As they became more available, the 32-round magazine became the preferred size.
Against his protests, the Uzi was named after the head of the design team, Uziel Gal. Two million Uzi submachineguns were produced in Israel alone during the nearly 50+ year service life of the weapon. Additional designs were produced based on the original weapon which are still produced and seen in military, security, and law enforcement service around the world today.
