The Uzi sub machinegun was designed by Major Uzi Gal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following the 1948 Israel's War of Independence. The weapon was simple to use and relatively easy to manufacture. The Uzi was officially adopted by the IDF in 1951. First introduced to the 101 Special Force unit(Under Ariel Sharon)  in 1954, and two years later to all combat units of the IDF. The first Uzis were equipped with a short, fixed wooden butt stock. Later models would be equipped with a folding metal stock.
The Uzi Sub Machinegun was used by the IDF from 1954 till the mid 80s. Some variants of the Uzi were still used by a few IDF units until December 2003, when the IDF announced that it was retiring the Uzi from all IDF units.
The Uzi was a reliable weapon in military service, however, its limited range and accuracy in automatic fire (approximately 50 m) was a handicap.
Over 90 countries worldwide used variants of the UZI including the German Bundesweher, the Irish Gardai and the United States Secret Service.