The Uzi

The Uzi uses an open-bolt, blowback-operated design, quite similar to the Jaroslav Holeček-designed Czech ZK 476 (prototype only) and the production Sa 23, Sa 24, Sa 25, and Sa 26 series of submachine guns. The open bolt design exposes the breech end of the barrel, and improves cooling during periods of continuous fire. However, it means that since the bolt is held to the rear when cocked, the receiver is more susceptible to contamination from sand and dirt. It uses a telescoping bolt design, in which the bolt wraps around the breech end of the barrel. 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 Uzi submachine gun was designed by Captain (later Major) 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. Later models would be equipped with a folding metal stock.

It 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 makes the gun awkward to fire when prone. The Uzi features a bayonet lug.

In 1956, IMI developed a downward-folding twin-strut metal stock with two swiveling sections that tuck under the rear of the receiver. The Mini Uzi has a forward-folding single-strut metal stock that is actually an inch longer than the Uzi's. Its buttplate can be used as a foregrip when stowed. The Micro Uzi has a similar model.

The United States Secret Service used the Uzi as their standard submachine gun from the 1960s until the early 1990s, when it was phased out and replaced with the Heckler & Koch MP5 and FN P90. When President Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, Secret Service Special Agent Robert Wanko pulled an Uzi out of a briefcase and covered the rear of the presidential limousine as it sped to safety with the wounded president inside.

The Uzi has also been featured in many hollywood movies such as Terminator and has been referenced in many pop culture platforms.

This Uzi is displayed on our museum wall it is a replica and if you come into our shop you may be greeted by our very own “Uzi” part of our friendly Staffordshire workforce 🙂

Variants

• Uzi, standard version with a 10.2 in. barrel.
• Mini Uzi, basically a scaled-down version of the Uzi, first introduced in 1980. The Mini Uzi is 23.62 in. long or 14.17 in. long with the stock folded.
• Micro Uzi, an even further scaled down version of the Uzi, introduced in 1986. The Micro Uzi is 19.13 in. long or 11.10 in. long with the stock folded. Its barrel length is 5.28 in.
• Uzi Pro, a modernized version of the Micro Uzi, introduced in 2010.
• Uzi carbine, a semi-automatic version with a longer 16 in. barrel to meet minimum legal rifle overall length requirements for civilian sales in the United States when the stock is folded.
• Mini Uzi carbine, a semi-automatic version of the Mini Uzi with a 19.8 in. barrel.
• Uzi pistol, a semi-automatic version of the Micro Uzi and does not have a stock. It was introduced in 1984.
• Uzi Pro pistol, a modernized version of the Uzi pistol.