Description
The Uzi is quite possibly one of the most iconic submachine guns (SMG’s) of all time, certainly of the post war period. It was developed in 1949 by Israeli designer Uziel Gal and swiftly went into production by Israel Military Industries (IMI) in 1951. Its use with the military and governments of over 90 countries is testament to its reliability and ease of use and up until the mid 1980’s sales of no other SMG on the market came close.
Their use with the Secret Service and other more convert agencies lead to the development of smaller more concealable variants and in the 1980’s the Mini and Micro Uzi were born. Unlike the larger original Uzi, these smaller versions could also be fired from a closed bolt.
The pistol grip also acts as the magazine housing (much like a semi-automatic pistol) and for this reason these later/smaller variants are as also referred to as a Machine Pistols.
The original Uzi has seen plenty of action on film. The most well known appearance would be in James Cameron’s 1984 hit ‘The Terminator’, when Arnold Schwarzenegger asks for an “Uzi 9mm” in a gun store, prior to using it in the nightclub.