Today in 1955, the IDF introduced the Uzi rifle for the first time.
After the War of Independence, in which the State of Israel’s dependence on weapons from abroad was proven, the IDF began to promote the development of new and self-made weapons, suitable for the missions of IDF soldiers and to make Israel independent of the grace of the nations in time of war; the task was assigned to Uzi Gal, a German-born Palmach fighter who specialized in weapons development. Gal soon developed a new submachine gun, which was combined to be extremely cheap, compact (more than the rest of the machine gun in the world), convenient to carry, manufacture, disassemble and mount, light for operation and high reliability (the only problem – the short barrel made the weapon suitable only for short-range firing). The rifle was received enthusiastically, and Uzi Gal won the Chief of Staff’s award and the rifle was named after him (although he objected to it); the rifle was used by the IDF (paratroopers and then infantry) from 1955 until the 70s, when it was gradually replaced by long-barrel rifles. The Uzi received special praise and widespread worldwide publicity, served as a symbol of the creativity of the IDF in particular and the Israeli arms industry in general, and is still used today by several armies around the world.
Photo Source: Wikipedia
