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Uzi

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Revision as of 04:53, 22 October 2009 by Koalorka (talk | contribs) (Undid revision 321248599 by Macgyver-bd 896 (talk))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For other uses, see Uzi (disambiguation). Submachine Gun, Machine Pistol
IMI Uzi
The IMI Uzi
TypeSubmachine Gun, Machine Pistol
Place of origin Israel
Service history
Used bySee Users
WarsSix-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
DesignerUziel Gal
Designed1948
ManufacturerIsrael Military Industries, FN Herstal, Norinco, Lyttleton Engineering Works (under Vektor Arms), RH-ALAN, Ka Pa Sa State Factories
Produced1950-present
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
MassTemplate:Kg to lb
LengthTemplate:Mm to in stock extended, 470 mm (18.5 in) stock collapsed
Barrel length260 mm (10.2 in)
Cartridge9x19mm Parabellum, .22 LR, .45 ACP, .41 AE
ActionBlowback
Rate of fire600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity~400 m/s (1,312 ft/s)
Effective firing range120 metres
Maximum firing range200 m.
Feed system10 (.22 and .41 AE), 16 (.45 ACP) 20, 32, 40 and 50-round box magazines
SightsIron sights

The Uzi (Template:Lang-he, officially cased as UZI) is a related family of open bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. Smaller variants are considered to be machine pistols. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows for the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.

The first Uzi submachine gun was designed by Major Uziel Gal in the late 1940s. The prototype was finished in 1950; first introduced to IDF special forces in 1954, the weapon was placed into general issue two years later. The Uzi has found use 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.

Over its service lifetime, the Uzi was manufactured by Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, and other manufacturers.

Design

The Uzi uses an open bolt, blowback-operated design. 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 ingress. It and the Czechoslovakian series 23 to 26 were the first weapons to use 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 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 de-cocked, 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.

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. 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.

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 7.62 mm FN MAG machine gun was still in operation.

The Uzi proved especially useful for Mechanized infantry 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.

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.

  • The German Bundeswehr used the Uzi since 1959 under the name MP2 (especially for tank crews) and is now changing to the Heckler & Koch MP7.
  • The Irish Gardaí Emergency Response Unit (ERU) are replacing the Uzi with the HK MP7.
  • In Rhodesia in the late 1970s the Uzi was produced under license, from Israeli-supplied, and later made in Rhodesia, components. It was commonly called the "Rhuzi" (although the title was also applied to some indigenous submachine gun designs).
  • Sri Lanka ordered a few thousand Mini Uzi and Uzi Carbines in 1990s. Currently those are deployed with Sri Lanka Army special forces regiment and Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force as their primary weapon when providing security for VIPs.
  • The United States Secret Service, the agency that guards the President of the United States, have used the Uzi to provide covering fire while agents evacuated the President out of an area. When President Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981 outside of the Washington Hilton Hotel by John Hinckley Jr., a Secret Service Special Agent 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.

Variants

  • Uzi Carbine: standard Uzi with barrel extended to 400mm (16 inches), designed to meet minimum legal rifle overall length requirements for civilian sales in the United States when the stock is folded.
  • Mini Uzi: a scaled-down version of the regular Uzi, first introduced in 1980. The Mini Uzi is 600mm (23.62 inches) long or 360mm (14.17 inches) long with the stock folded. Its barrel length is 197 mm (7.76 inches) and its muzzle velocity is 375 m/s (1230 f/s).
  • Micro Uzi: an even further scaled down version of the Uzi, introduced in 1982. The Micro Uzi is 436mm (19.13 inches) long, reduced to 240mm with the stock folded. Its barrel length is 134mm (5.28 inches) and its muzzle velocity is 350 m/s (1148 f/s).
  • UZI Pistol, a semi-automatic pistol derived from the Micro Uzi. this variation is designed for civilian use.

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

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.

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.

Nigerian soldier with an Uzi.

Users

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
A visit, board, search and seizure team attached to the Brazilian Navy frigate Independencia (F 44) rappel onto their ship from a Brazilian Navy Lynx helicopter during an exercise in 2007.

Gallery

  • An Uzi submachine gun An Uzi submachine gun
  • A Mini-Uzi A Mini-Uzi
  • Uzi with suppressor Uzi with suppressor
  • Uzi with fixed wooden buttstock Uzi with fixed wooden buttstock
  • Uzi and MP 40 Uzi and MP 40

See also

Footnotes

  1. Hogg 1979:157-158
  2. Uzi Lore, History of the Uzi Submachine Gun
  3. ^ "Israel's army phases out country's iconic Uzi submachine gun". Usatoday.Com. 2003-12-18. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  4. ": : The Uzi Official Website : :". Uzi.com. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  5. "Mini-Uzi and Micro-Uzi specifications". Twenty-First Century's Small Arms, MBI Publishing. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  6. "UZI Talk - Caliber Conversions". Files.uzitalk.com. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  7. Uzi Submachine Gun. Retrieved on October 28, 2008.
  8. http://www.aalan.hr/Product-Catalogue/tabid/3622/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/11522/categoryId/274/Submachine-Gun-Type-Ero-cal-9x19mm.aspx
  9. "Eesti Kaitsevägi - Tehnika - Püstolkuulipilduja Mini UZI". Mil.ee. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  10. Jones, Richard (2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009-2010. Jane's Information Group. p. 901. ISBN 0710628692.

References

External links

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