Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Uzi Submachine Gun

Uzi Submachine Gun

The 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, a design not seen since the Japanese Type II machine pistol.

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.

The Uzi has been exported to over 90 countries. Over its service lifetime, it has been manufactured by Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, and other manufacturers. From the 1960s through the 1980s, Uzi submachine guns were sold to more military and police markets than any other submachine gun ever made.

IMI Uzi
Type Submachine Gun
Place of origin Israel
Service history
Wars Vietnam War

Suez Crisis

Six-Day War

Yom Kippur War

Sri Lankan Civil War

Portuguese Colonial War

Falklands War

South African Border War

Rhodesian Bush War

Somali Civil War

Mexican Drug War
Production history
Designer Uziel Gal
Designed 1948
Manufacturer Israel Military Industries

FN Herstal

Norinco

Lyttleton Engineering Works (under Vektor Arms)

RH-ALAN
Produced 1950–present
Number built 10,000,000+
Specifications
Weight 3.5 kg (7.72 lb)
Length
  • 640 mm (25 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
Effective range 200 m
Feed system 10 (.22 and .41 AE)

16 (.45 ACP)

20,25,32,40,50 (9MM) magazines
Sights Iron sights


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

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.

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