The Uzi (Hebrew: עוזי‎, 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 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.[1] 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.


Type Submachine Gun, Machine Pistol
Place of origin Israel
Service history
Wars Six-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
Designer Uziel Gal
Designed 1948
Manufacturer Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, Norinco, Lyttleton Engineering Works (under Vektor Arms), RH-ALAN, Ka Pa Sa State Factories
Produced 1950-present
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight 3.5 kg (7.72 lb)
Length 650 mm (25.6 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 (1,312 ft/s)
Effective range 120 metres
Maximum range 200 m.
Feed system 10 (.22 and .41 AE), 16 (.45 ACP) 20, 32, 40 and 50-round box magazines