Uziel "Uzi" Gal (, born Gotthard Glas; 15 December 1923 – 7 September 2002) was a German-born Israeli firearm designer who invented and became the eponym of the Uzi submachine gun.

Early life

Gal was born in Weimar, Germany, to Mila-Maria "Miela" Glas (née Zacharias-Langhans) and Erich Glas. His father, an illustrator and former German Army pilot, was a Jewish native of Berlin while his mother, a gardener, was an Evangelical Christian from Hamburg, whose grandparents were Jewish. His parents divorced early in their son's childhood and Gal was given into the custody of his mother, living with her next to the Haus am Horn. He remained close with his father, who shared his interest in weapons, both in firearms and medieval weapons such as longswords, rapiers, bows, and crossbows. He spent much of his childhood at his father's house in Munich and by age ten, Gal had become adept in gunsmithing and archery.

In 1933, following Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Gal's father Erich emigrated to England with his second wife, where the couple obtained a visa to travel to Mandatory Palestine. Gal had been attending a Jewish summer camp in London with his school at the time and as a return to Germany was deemed unsafe, he remained there until 1936, when he was allowed to join his father in their new home in the kibbutz Yagur. He attended school in Nesher

In 1943, Gal, by then part of the Haganah's Palmach unit, was scoping out British Army facilities in hopes of acquiring better weapons parts, seeking to make a superior alternative to the military's Sten submachine guns, which the Haganah found unreliable and unwieldy. The same year, he was arrested by British authorities after he was caught with a bag containing several guns amid a firearm carrying ban and was sentenced to seven years at Acre Prison, where he maintained his mechanical engineering studies and kept working on gun designs. However, Gal ultimately only served 2½ before receiving a pardon and being released in July 1946.

Career

After his release, Gal joined the Israel Defense Forces, serving in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, stationed in the Galilee, during which he reached the rank of Lieutenant. In 1949, Gal underwent officer training before becoming employed by Israel Weapon Industries. The Kara was officially designated the K-12, while the Uzi remained known under its informal name. The K-12 was initially well received for its design, weight and ergonomics, but fell out of favor due to its high cost and effort in production. The same year, the Uzi was put through the first test trials by the Israel Defense Forces, starting with five copies before increasing the number to eighty. In 1952, Gal patented the weapons design as the Uzi, though production rights remained with the Ministry of Defense. Gal did not want the weapon to be named after him but his request was denied.

Gal retired from the IDF with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1975, and moved to the United States the following year.

In the early 1980s, Gal assisted in the creation of the Ruger MP9 submachine gun.

In 1990, Gal served in the production of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, serving as one of the firearms instructors to Linda Hamilton, also teaching her hand-to-hand combat techniques.

Gal continued his work as a firearms designer in the United States until his death from cancer in 2002. His body was flown back to Yagur for burial.

References

  • Uziel Gal biography by his son, Iddo Gal