Uzi

The Uzi is an Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine gun designed by Major Uziel Gal and manufactured principally by Israel Military Industries, with a completed prototype in 1950 and adoption by Israel Defense Forces special units beginning in 1954. Its telescoping bolt design let the magazine sit inside the pistol grip, producing an unusually compact weapon built from stamped sheet metal with few moving parts for ease of maintenance. Over 2 million Uzis have been manufactured and the weapon was exported to more than 90 countries, and from the 1960s through the 1980s more Uzis were sold to military, police and security markets worldwide than any other submachine gun ever made. The Israel Defense Forces phased the Uzi out of frontline service during the 1980s and formally retired it in December 2003, though variants remain in limited use with specialized units around the world.