IMI Galil
| Galil | |
|---|---|
 A Galil rifle in service with the Israel Defense Forces in July 2000. |
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| Type | Assault rifle |
| Place of origin |  State of Israel |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1972–present[1] |
| Used by | See users |
| Wars | Lebanon War War in Somalia South African Border War War in Afghanistan Iraq War Insurgency in the Philippines Guatemalan Civil War Colombian Armed Conflict 2013 Lahad Datu standoff |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Yisrael Galili, Yaacov Lior |
| Manufacturer | Israel Military Industries (IMI), Bernardelli, Indumil, Ka Pa Sa State Factories |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight |
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| Length |
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| Barrel length |
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| Cartridge | |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 630–750 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity |
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| Effective range | 300–500 m sight adjustments |
| Feed system |
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| Sights | Flip-up rear aperture with protective ears, flip-up tritium night sights, hooded front post |
The Galil is a family of Israeli small arms designed by Yisrael Galil and Yaacov Lior in the late 1960s and produced by Israel Military Industries Ltd (now Israel Weapon Industries Ltd) of Ramat HaSharon. The rifle design borrowed heavily from the AK-47 and had a modified gas diversion system similar to the AK-47 to reduce the recoil of the rifle making it easier to fire especially in automatic mode.[1]The weapon system consists of a line chambered for the intermediate 5.56×45mm NATO caliber with either the M193 or SS109 ball cartridge and several models designed for use with the 7.62x51mm NATO rifle round. It is named after one of its inventors, Yisrael Galil. The Galil series of weapons is in use with military and police forces in over 25 countries.
There are four basic configurations of the Galil: the standard rifle-length AR (Assault Rifle), a carbine variant known as the SAR (Short Assault Rifle), a compact MAR (Micro Assault Rifle) version, and an ARM (Assault Rifle and Machine gun) light machine gun.
Contents |
History [edit]
The Galil’s design is optimized for operation in arid conditions and is based on the Finnish RK 62,[2] which itself was derived from the Soviet AK-47 assault rifle. It was selected as the winner of a competition for the Israel Defense Forces that included many other rival designs (among them, the M16A1, AKMS, AK-47 and Heckler & Koch G3) and was formally accepted into service in 1972, replacing the FN FAL.
The Galil was mostly used by mechanized and armored units, where its folding stock made it easier to store in vehicles. The M16A1 was more common in Israeli service in the 1970s and 1980s because Vietnam-surplus rifles were sold cheaper than it would cost to manufacture new Galils.[citation needed]
Design details [edit]
Operating mechanism [edit]
The Galil series of rifles are selective fire weapons operated by a Kalashnikov-pattern gas-driven piston system with no regulator. The weapon is locked with a rotary bolt with two locking lugs that lock into recesses milled into the receiver.
When fired, a portion of the propellant gases are evacuated into the gas cylinder through a 1.8 mm (0.07 in) port, drilled at a 30° angle in the barrel, and a channel in the gas block. The high-pressure gases drive the piston rod (which is attached to the bolt carrier) rearward. During this rearward movement, a cam slot machined into the bolt carrier engages a cam pin on the bolt and rotates the bolt, unlocking the action. The arrangement of parts on the bolt carrier assembly provides for a degree of free travel, allowing gas pressure in the barrel to drop to a safe level before unlocking. To the immediate rear of the chrome-plated piston head is a notched ring which provides a reduced bearing surface and alleviates excess gas build-up. As the bolt carrier travels back, it compresses the return spring guided in a hollowed section of the bolt carrier and the return energy contained in the spring drives the moving assembly back forward, stripping a new round from the magazine and locking the action. The cocking handle is attached to the bolt carrier on the right side of the receiver and reciprocates with each shot; the handle is bent upwards allowing for operation with the left hand while the shooting hand remains on the pistol grip.
Features [edit]
The Galil is hammer-fired and has a trigger mechanism patterned after the trigger used in the American M1 Garand.[2] The rifle's fire has three positions: "R" (British terminology for "repetition" or semi-automatic fire); the middle position, "A", produces fully automatic fire; and pushing the lever fully forward will activate the safety.
The Galil prototypes used a stamped and riveted sheet metal steel receiver, but due to the higher operating pressures of the 5.56x45mm cartridge, this solution was discarded and the designers turned to a heavy milled forging. As a testament to its heritage, early prototypes were fabricated using Valmet Rk 62 receivers manufactured in Helsinki.[2] All exterior metal surfaces are phosphated for corrosion resistance and then coated with a black enamel (except for the barrel, gas block and front sight tower).
The weapon is fitted with a high-impact plastic handguard and pistol grip and a side-folding (folds to the right side) tubular steel skeleton stock. The rifle can be used with a sound suppressor. The weapon features a bottle opener in the front handguard and wire cutter built into the bipod. The bottle opener feature was included to prevent damage to magazines being used to open bottles, due to the large civilian reservist components of the IDF. Use of magazines to open bottles was a common source of magazine lip damage with Uzi submachine guns. Wire cutters were included to reduce the time necessary for IDF troops to cut down wire fences common to rural areas in Israel.
Barrel [edit]
Early production models were supplied with barrels that had six right-hand grooves and a 305 mm (1:12 in) rifling twist (optimized for use with M193 ammunition), while recent production models feature a 178 mm (1:7 in) twist barrel with six right-hand grooves (used to stabilize the heavier SS109/M855 projectile). The barrel has a slotted flash suppressor with 6 ports and can be used to launch rifle grenades or mount a bayonet lug attachment (it will accept the M7 bayonet).[2]
Feeding [edit]
The Galil is fed from a curved, steel box magazine with a 35-round capacity (SAR and AR versions), a 50-round capacity (ARM model) or a special color-coded 12-round magazine blocked for use exclusively with ballistite (blank) cartridges, used to launch rifle grenades. The magazine is inserted front end first in a similar manner to the AK family. An optional magazine adaptor enables the use of M16 type STANAG magazines.[2][3]
Sights [edit]
The L-shaped rear sight has two apertures preset for firing at 0–300 m and 300–500 m respectively (the rear sight can only be adjusted for elevation). The front post is fully adjustable for both windage and elevation zero and is enclosed in a protective hood. Low-light flip-up front blade and rear sight elements have three self-luminous tritium capsules (betalights) which are calibrated for 100 m when deployed. When the rear night sight is flipped up for use, the rear aperture sights must be placed in an offset position intermediate between the two apertures. Certain variants have a receiver-mounted dovetail adapter that is used to mount various optical sights.
Variants [edit]
AR [edit]
The standard rifle version which is fitted with a high-impact plastic handguard and pistol grip, a side-folding (folds to the right side) tubular metal skeleton stock as fitted to all variants except the Galil Sniper.
SAR [edit]
The SAR carbine variant of the AR is configured with a shorter barrel (332 mm, 13.07in). Due to the shorter barrel a corresponding shorter piston and gas tube as well as a unique gas block are found on the SAR.
ARM [edit]
The ARM light machine gun variant is additionally equipped with a carrying handle, folding bipod and a larger wooden handguard. The wooden handguard remains cooler during sustained automatic fire and has grooves for bipod storage. When folded, the bipod's legs form a speed chute for rapid magazine insertion; the bipod will form a wire cutter and the rear handguard ferrule, which retains the bipod legs, can be used to open bottles by design, in order to prevent soldiers using magazine lips for this purpose which damaged them.[2]
MAR [edit]
The most recent addition to the Galil family of weapons is the MAR compact carbine, which retains the internal features of the original Galil with a completely new frame, operating system and an even shorter barrel. Introduced to the public at the 2nd International Defence Industry Exhibition in Poland in 1994, the weapon was developed for use with the army and police special units, vehicle crews, army staff, special operations personnel and airborne infantry.
The MAR, or the Micro Galil, is a reduced-size version of the Galil SAR (706 mm stock extended / 465 mm folded), weighing 2.98 kg empty. Compared to the original carbine, the MAR has a shortened barrel (210 mm), receiver, piston, gas tube and foregrip. The firearm is fed from a 35-round steel magazine which can be clipped together to increase reload speed. The MAR has the same rate of fire (630-750 rounds/min) as other 5.56 mm Galil models. An optional magazine adapter inserted inside the magazine well allows the use of standard 20 and 30-round M16 magazines. The lever safety and fire selector (located on both sides of the receiver) has four settings: "S"—weapon is safe, "A"—automatic fire, "B"—3-round burst, "R"—semi-automatic mode. The barrel has a multifunction muzzle device. The MAR is equipped with a folding tubular metal stock and a flip aperture sight with two settings: 0–300 m and beyond 300 m. The MAR can also be equipped with a night vision device (attached through an adapter mounted to the left side of the receiver), a daytime optical sight (mounted via a receiver cover adapter), low-light sights with tritium illuminated dots, a vertical forward grip with integrated laser pointer, silencer and a nylon sling. Upon request, the weapon can be supplied with a bolt catch, plastic magazines weighing 0.164 kg or an enlarged trigger guard for use with gloves.
7.62mm variants [edit]
The 7.62 mm Galil is derived from the 5.56 mm base version. The rifle retains the general design layout and method of operation of the 5.56 mm variant. In 7.62mm the Galil is available in several different configurations including a SAR carbine, full size AR rifle and ARM light machine gun. These weapons are fed from 25-round box magazines (previously 20-rounds). The barrel has four right-hand grooves with a 305 mm (1:12 in) rifling twist rate.
The 7.62 mm Galil Sniper (Galil Tzalafim, or Galatz) is a derivative of the ARM that is used with high quality 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition for consistent accuracy.[4]
The precision rifle is a semi-automatic-only rifle with a similar operating system to other Galil variants, but optimised for accuracy. The rifle is fed from a 25-round box magazine. It uses a heavy profile match barrel that is heavier than that used on other variants. It is fitted with a multi-functional muzzle device, which acts as a flash suppressor and a muzzle brake. It can be replaced with a sound suppressor which requires the use of subsonic ammunition for maximum effectiveness.
The weapon was modified with a two-stage trigger mechanism with an adjustable pull force, a wooden buttstock that folds to the right side of the weapon and a heavy-duty bipod, mounted to the forward base of the receiver housing that folds beneath the handguard when not in use. The buttstock is fully adjustable in length and height and features a variable height cheek riser. The rifle comes with mechanical iron sights and an adapter used to mount a telescopic day sight (Nimrod 6x40) or a night sight. The mount is quick-detachable and capable of retaining zero after remounting. The precision rifle is stored in a rugged transport case that comes with an optical sight, mount, filters, two slings (for carrying and firing) and a cleaning kit. Recent production models feature synthetic plastic furniture and a skeletonized metal stock.
Other variants [edit]
Other variants are:
- Magal: A law enforcement carbine variant of the Galil MAR chambered in .30 Carbine.
- SR-99: A Modernized version of the Galil Sniper.
- Golani: A civilian version with a new-production milled semi automatic receiver built in the United States with all other components original IMI Galil production parts.
- Galil ACE: The new generation of the Galil rifle, designed by the Colombian military industry, Indumil. It has three versions (Micro, SAR and AR) at 5.56, 7.62x39mm and 7.62x51mm. It has five picatinny rails for optical devices and accessories, and is lighter and more accurate than past generation Galils. It can be stripped without any tools
Users [edit]
Bolivia[5]
Botswana[5]
Brazil[5]
Chile Chilean Air Force PDI Investigations Police Force(replaced by IMI Tavor TAR-21)
Colombia: Standard issue rifle. Produced under license by Indumil.[6] Also adopted the Galil ACE rifle by the middle of 2010, produced by Indumil.[7]
Costa Rica[5]
Democratic Republic of Congo[5]
Djibouti[8]
El Salvador[9]
Estonia: Uses 5.56mm versions of the Galil AR, SAR, ARM and the 7.62mm Galil Sniper.[10][11][12][13]
Georgia Uses GALATZ sniper and Micro-Galil assault rifles [14]
Guatemala 3,000 ACE[15]
Haiti[5]
India[5]
Indonesia: Komando Pasukan Katak (Kopaska) tactical diver group and Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) special forces group.[16]
Israel: Israel Defense Forces[17] and Knesset Guard.[18]
Italy: The Italian firearms manufacturing firm Vincenzo Bernardelli S.r.l. manufactured under licence quantities of the Galil assault rifle in two different models for governmental use in the 1980s.[19] The Bernardelli Mod.377 VB-STR assault rifle was an outright clone of the Galil AR/ARM variant, while the Bernardelli Mod.378 VB-SR assault carbine was a modified clone of the Galil SAR with a different magazine well that accepted STANAG magazines, much similar in concept and look to the above-mentioned optional magazine adapter currently available for the Israeli-made models, except that the Bernardelli VB-SR could be manufactured with permanent STANAG magazine well modification on demand.[20] The rifles competed to the trial for the adoption of a new 5.56x45mm NATO caliber rifle, but lost to the Beretta 70/90 assault weapons system. However, as of today, both models result by official schedules to be in the inventories of the Italian National Police, and are known to be deployed with the NOCS team.[21]
Lesotho[5]
Mexico: Secretaría de Seguridad Pública.[22]
Mongolia[23][24]
Myanmar: Tatmadaw, Myanmar Police Force, Combat Police battalions. Produced locally in a modified form as EMERK-3.[citation needed]
Nepal[5]
Nicaragua[5]
Paraguay: Indumil-made Galils for the Fuerzas de Operaciones de Policias Especiales.[25]
Peru[5]
Philippines[5][26]
Portugal: 5.56mm AR and ARM versions used by the Portuguese Army airborne infantry.[27]
Rwanda[5]
South Africa: Standard assault rifle of the South African National Defence Force. Produced under license in a modified form as the R4 by Denel Land Systems.[28]
South Sudan[citation needed]
Swaziland[5]
Trinidad and Tobago[5]
Ukraine: Sniper variant is used by the "Omega" special forces group. (produced under license as the Fort-301)[29]
Vietnam: Uses Galil AR and Galil Sniper.[30]
See also [edit]
- Rk 62 - The Finnish weapon upon which the Galil is partly based.
- AKM
- IMI Tavor TAR-21 - Another Israeli 5.56mm assault rifle
- INSAS rifle - Indian 5.56 mm caliber assault rifle
- R4 assault rifle - South African licensed version
- Vektor CR-21 - A South African bullpup rifle based on the R4/Galil
- Zastava M21 - A Serbian 5.56mm caliber rifle based upon the Kalashnikov action.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Bishop, Chris. Guns in Combat. Chartwell Books, Inc (1998). ISBN 0-7858-0844-2.
- ^ a b c d e f Kokalis, Peter (2001). Weapons Tests And Evaluations: The Best Of Soldier Of Fortune. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press. p. 253. ISBN 1-58160-122-0.
- ^ http://media.photobucket.com/image/galil%20m16%20magazine%20adapter/Smittyd5r/Gun%2520Stuff/ORFGalilARFG1.jpg
- ^ Galil 7.62mm semi-automatic sniper rifle
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- ^ http://www.indumil.gov.co/?id_c=21&tpl=producto
- ^ "IWI Galil ACE 5.56 mm assault rifle (Israel), Rifles". Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
- ^ http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=42208
- ^ Haapiseva-Hunter, Jane (1999). Israeli foreign policy: South Africa and Central America. South End Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-89608-285-4.
- ^ Eesti Kaitsevägi - Tehnika - Automaat Galil AR
- ^ http://www.mil.ee/?menu=tehnika1&sisu=galilsar
- ^ http://www.mil.ee/?menu=tehnika1&sisu=galilarm
- ^ http://www.mil.ee/?menu=tehnika1&sisu=galilsnaiper
- ^ http://geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=9&lang=en
- ^ Haapiseva-Hunter, Jane (1999). Israeli foreign policy: South Africa and Central America. South End Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-89608-285-4.
- ^ "Kopassus & Kopaska - Specijalne Postrojbe Republike Indonezije" (in Croatian). Hrvatski Vojnik Magazine. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ Hogg, Ian (2002). Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-00-712760-X.
- ^ Picture of the Knesset Guard on Israel's 52nd Independence Day armed with Galil, Israeli Knesset Official Website.
- ^ Original brochure of Bernardelli Galil rifles -- Retrieved on January 13, 2011.
- ^ Bernardelli VB-SR assault rifle with permanent STANAG magazine well modification -- Retrieved on January 13, 2011.
- ^ Italian Ministry of Interior - Decree n° 559/A/1/ORG/DIP.GP/14 of March 6, 2009, concerning weapons and equipment in use with the Italian National Police - in Italian Retrieved on August 25, 2010.
- ^ http://www.sipse.com/noticias/7645-nuevo-armamento-para-cancun.html
- ^ http://www.shuud.mn/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/352.jpg
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECB_XX4NEzM
- ^ http://www.altair.com.pl/news/view?news_id=3986
- ^ http://www.bits.de/public/articles/kw_nl/kleinwaffen-nl04-08eng.htm
- ^ Walter, John (2006). Rifles of the World. Krause. p. 616. ISBN 978-0-89689-241-5.
- ^ http://www.army.mil.za/equipment/weaponsystems/infantry/R4_R5%20Assault_Rifles.htm
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UBcVIFLzhU
- ^ http://www.baodatviet.vn/hinh-anh/201304/Bo-doi-Hai-quan-Viet-Nam-huan-luyen-2344875/?p=5
Further reading [edit]
- Kokalis, Peter (2001). Weapons Tests And Evaluations: The Best Of Soldier Of Fortune. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press. ISBN 1-58160-122-0.
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Galil |
 Galil Golani 5.56×45mm Rifle |
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| Video of an IMI Galil being fired |
External video- The AK Forum Galil & Valmet Discussions
- Israel Weapon Industries – manufacturer's page
- Operator's Manual
- Israeli-Weapons.com
- Galil 5.56 mm AR/ARM/SAR manual
- Buddy Hinton collection
- Galil rifle information
- Modern Firearms
- REMTEK
- Golani Sporter, Guns Magazine July 2007
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