Natural Talent
Gal spent most of his life around Yagur. He became increasingly interested in mechanics, weapons, and their design. He confirmed his talent at the age of fifteen when he built an automatic arrow launcher and soon began studying mechanical engineering. When he came of age, he joined the paramilitary organization Hagana, which defended Jewish settlements against attacks from the Arab population. His contributions included acquiring and manufacturing weapons, which the British did not allow Jews to possess in the mandated territory. In 1943, the police knocked on Uziel's door. He was sentenced to six years in prison but received clemency in 1946.
When Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, Arab armies invaded its territory. The Hagana transformed into the army, and Gal also joined the fight, earning a commission. Despite the victory, the diversity of weapons caused problems during training and supply of ammunition and parts. Officers understood the need for standardized models, including submachine guns, and Chief of General Staff Ya’akov Dori announced a competition for a rapid-fire weapon of domestic design.
The Israel Military Industries approached two designers. The first was Major Chaim Kara, the future head of the Israeli army's light weapons department. The second proposal was to be created by Gal, now also a recognized expert with the rank of lieutenant. He found inspiration in the products of Czechoslovak armories, as post-war aid from Prague had included technically advanced submachine guns. Uziel was particularly impressed by the ZK 476 prototype from Zbrojovka Brno and the vz. 23/25 and 24/26 from Česká Zbrojovka Strakonice. He adopted several functional principles from them, especially the telescopic bolt that fit over the rear part of the barrel, allowing the weapon's length to be reduced without shortening the barrel.
Birth of a Legend
Gal's 9×19 mm submachine gun utilized the blowback energy after firing and had an unlocked dynamic bolt. The Israeli integrated a fixed firing pin into the bolt face, causing the cartridge to ignite just before it fully chambered. This consumed part of the blowback energy before the bolt fully closed the chamber, resulting in reduced recoil and more stable weapon behavior.
When considering the details, Gal used his own combat experience—for instance, he remembered how difficult older submachine guns were to operate in the dark. He placed the magazine directly into the pistol grip, allowing the weapon to be reloaded by touch alone without searching for the magazine well. The magazine's central position also contributed to the submachine gun's balance, allowing for relatively accurate one-handed firing. The rate of fire was kept at a manageable 600 rounds per minute by heavy moving parts. The initial magazine versions held 25 rounds, later expanded to high-capacity 32-round and reduced 20-round versions. Gal installed a combined fire mode selector and safety switch above the left grip panel and also included a grip safety.
Uziel's design emerged as the clear winner in tests. Kara's K-12 model failed not due to a less imaginative design but due to high costs, complexity, and lower durability. Gal's rougher submachine gun could be almost entirely made from cheap stampings, a key advantage for the young state. Tests also showed incredible resistance to sand, dust, and heat.
Simultaneously, it was decided to name the submachine gun after its designer. Uziel protested—he did not want a tool for killing people to bear his name. The generals ignored his protest, and the legendary Uzi was born. In 1952, Gal patented the weapon, but the production rights belonged to the Ministry of Defense. When the submachine gun achieved export success, all profits went to the state. The government recognized Uziel's contributions by awarding him high honors.
International Bestseller
In 1954, representatives of the Israeli armed forces signed an order for the first 8,000 submachine guns and ten times as many magazines. Early examples featured wooden stocks, while later ones were supplied with folding metal stocks. This made the submachine gun popular with armored vehicle crews and pilots. Special forces and paratroopers also received Uzis in large numbers. The submachine guns first saw combat during the Sinai conflict in 1956. They proved to be a blessing for Israeli soldiers during the Six-Day War in 1967, effectively used in fortified encounters on the Golan Heights.
The robust weapon was gradually adopted by other armies. Licensed versions were produced in Belgium, the USA, South Africa, and Rhodesia, with unlicensed copies in Croatia and China. Israel exported the weapon to about 90 countries. Users included Estonia, France, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Togo, Swaziland, Bangladesh, Fiji, Tonga, Uruguay, and Suriname. In the Western world, the Uzi became the most widely used submachine gun for decades, employed by secret agents, gangsters in street shootouts, soldiers on special missions, and action movie heroes.
Despite Gal's efforts for maximum safety, some Uzis developed an unpleasant defect after many years of service. The weapon could fire even with the manual safety on or fire a burst with the selector in single-shot mode. These issues, along with the advent of more modern designs, led to the Uzi being phased out of Israeli service in the 1980s.
In the Service of Ruger
Lieutenant Colonel Gal left the army in 1975 to move to the USA and care for his daughter Tamara, who had a brain disorder. After her death in 1984, he stayed in the USA and returned to working with weapons. He revisited his most famous creation and decided to improve it. The rights to the Uzi were then owned by the Connecticut arms manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co., and under their auspices, Uziel immersed himself in work.
The new design incorporated modern materials, while retaining the basic functional principles. The Ruger MP9 fired 9×19 mm ammunition and used 32-round magazines. The shooter had the option to fire in both semi-automatic and automatic modes. The effective range was 100 meters, with a rate of fire between 550 and 650 rounds per minute. Ruger began offering the MP9 to customers in 1995. The management believed it would succeed with police and military units and replicate the commercial success of the Uzi. However, the comeback did not happen, and production was halted after a year due to lack of interest.
Despite the lethal effectiveness of Gal's designs, those who knew him describe Uziel as a quiet and modest person with a secret dream of working in orthopedic medicine. Nevertheless, he was most knowledgeable about weapons throughout his life. Shortly before his death, he was working on a new pistol design, which Israeli newspapers claimed would "revolutionize the global arms market." Gal never saw his beloved Israel again, as he succumbed to cancer in the USA in September 2002. His remains were transferred to Israel and buried near Kibbutz Yagur.
