So the Russians send Kalashnikovs to the Arabs, who then lose them to the Israelis, who then hire an Israeli who used to be a Russian, to take these Kalashnikovs that used to be Russian, and make an Israeli gun out of them. And his name used to be Balashnikov. ...and now I have a headache.
Yisrael Balashnikov aka Yisrael Galili (not to be confused with the Israeli politician Yisrael Galili) was born in Israel ("Mandatory Palestine") in 1923. His Jewish ancestors had come from the Ukraine nearly two centuries prior. And, even further back in time, his Jewish ancestors that moved to the Ukraine, had come from Syria. So, long story short, he was an ethnic Levantine {Mizrahi} Jew whose family adopted a Slavic surname, but he was never in any way a 'Russian'. Syria-->Ukraine-->Israel.... Your headache should now be a migraine.
Bottle opener - needed for drinking on the job Wire cutter - needed to escape out of prison Rifle - just a luxury feature to celebrate an escape but there's no beer around
I liked that they added a sense of humour to the gun because the Israeli soldiers were said to use the magazines from guns as bottle openers. Not only does it have a bottle opener it has 2 of it and an additional wire cutter. This is my new favorite -gun- _bottle opener._
@@lenny_1369 It's less sense of humour, but necessity if there is no other way to make sure that the freaking soldiers stop ruining their mags. Lots of rifles have wire cutters.
Well, it's not really built in, if you're a bit creative, the standard AUG A1 of the Austrian Army does offer some possibilities too (although using the magazine feed lips from the magazines is a BAD idea, because the AUGs polymer magazines don't respond very well to such abuse - which in turn generally leads to supply sergeants and COs doing exactly the same). But let's be honest: Give a soldier a bottle with alcohol in it and no bottle opener, and he will _always_ find something which does the job, innit? :-)
"Let's make a civilian version !" "Make sure the bayonet lug is removed, they go nuts when they see one on a civilian gun." "And the grenade launcher muzzle ?" "Naah, you can leave that ..."
Speaking of the bris and circumcision a buddy of mine of about 50 years was a cop (retired now oh and he a christian by the way that will help at the end). I had a special phone number to call for the county wide dispatch system to get in touch with him. It was never anything important but dispatch always needed a name, the purpose of the call and a number for him to call back. One night I called in and said my name was Rabbi Abrahmavitz (it's not and I'm christian also) and said the reason for the call concerned his upcoming bris ceremony and left a number for him to call back ASAP. When dispatch put this call out on the radio, cops from about 5/6 different departments heard it. They busted his ass for several days after. 😄LOL, LOL
Balashnikov sounds exactly like a Chinese (copyright infringement) knock-off. The Balashnikov AK-74 "No one will spot the difference - we can sell it alongside Durberry and Armoni clothes".
@@N0t_M4linka What are you on about? The G3 was, given the right gunsight is equipped, used as a sniper up to 3 km lol. One of the best guns Germany ever produced
@@ELPYES actually the Desert Eagle was already designed and developed in the U.S by MRI, then the design was refined in Israel by I.M.I, and well MRI is an American Company, so the Desert Eagle was actually mainly designed in the U.S and not Israel.
Definitely brings back memories! The benchmark for a well maintained and lubricated stock was being able to fold it with a smack against your shoulder 😃 The hollow pistol grip was a good place to keep a rag for cleaning the gun. Good guns, definitely very reliable.
The meaning of the surname Balashnikov: History of the surname Balashnikov belongs to the Ukrainian-Russian regions. Surname Balashnikov formed from the nickname "Balashnik". According to one of the versions, it originates from the Türkic common "balash" with the meaning "child". Probably, parents called "Balashnik" a long-awaited, beloved baby. It is also possible that the basis for the nickname was a distorted Turkic “balas” - “precious stone", "gem”. In this case, the nickname Balashnik refers to "professional" naming, containing an indication of the activities of the founder of the name: he could be a jeweler or a dealer in jewels. Although it is possible that Balashnik called the rich man. Balashnik formed the basis of the surname Balashnikov. Mishmar HaYarden is a place is Israel, so it was not his name, its a mistake. He changed his name from Yisrael Balashnikov to Yisrael Galili.
The Galil is one fine weapon. I remember working with elite paratroopers in Honduras who were armed with the Galil. A very good idea for Israel. Also some of the aditions they added work very well, like the modified bolt handle, rear sites, bottle opener and bipod which increases accuracy, and of course folding stock. High quality for sure.
I’m from Guatemala when I served in the army 10 years ago they already bought the new Tavor and micro tavor 5.56. But they where a lot of Galil’s still in service. We got three versions Galil RM that has the bipod, Galil KEL that was only semi auto and was design for the troops that went weeks to track the guerrilas in the jungle and mountains and finally the Galil SAR that had a shorter barrel but was auto and semi for the squad leaders. Hell of a rifle I’m so glad I was able to use it a lot during my service.
@@pedrowhack-a-mole6786 I was never buried in sand dunes. All of our sand dunes border countries with peace agreements (Egypt and Jordan). All hostile areas will either be urban or forrest, so I still prefer the M-4.
@@avrahamhirsch2724 I was trying to make an analogy about the maintenance requirements of both weapons and I failed. In the end, the frequency of maintenance and time it takes are part of the job.
@@pedrowhack-a-mole6786 AKs will fail with any substantial amount of debris that falls into the receiver through it's huge fucking receiver gap, especially the trigger mechanism. However it would be pretty easy to get it working again. Moot point tho, AK is relatively out dated. The only acceptable way to design a proper rifle design these days is to design rifles like the AR-15, where the debris is kept outside of the rifle. An M4 can be buried in sand, pulled out and fired, unlike an AK. The AR-15 is also MUCH better suited for mud, for the same reasons. Mud getting caked inside an AK is a recipe for disaster. However the AK does do pretty well when fine particulate dust is floating in the air, they're also easy to clean. It's not a bad design, just from an older design era.
There was show I saw one time and there was a family who changed their last name. They said they their last name was originally BonGiorno, but they changed it to something that "sounded less Italian", BonGino. 🤔
It's a mistake. Ian pretty much mixed up all the names and the history - Israel Galili's birth surname was Balashnikov (original family name from Russia, it is NOT "Jewish sounding", but rather typically Russian), he later changed it to Galili, which means "of Galilee" in Hebrew. He wasn't born in Russia, but in Mandatory Palestine, his parents moved there BEFORE his birth. Mishmar Ha'yarden (the Guard of Jordan river" in Hebrew) is a village in the Upper Galilee, maybe it was his birth PLACE, but i couldn't verify this...
But that's a completely different person. The rifle was developed by Israel Galil (formerly Balashnikov), with no 'i' at the end. And he was born there, not in Russia. Israel Galili, with an i, who is the one born Barchenko, was not born in Russia either but in Ukraine, and he was a Hagana officer and later parliament member.
Well, Rk 62 was really just improved version of the og Ak47. Improvement being mostly due to far greater manufacturing standards. I served for a year+ with rk 62, and never had any problems whatsoever. Unbeliavable fire power, really great iron sights. Not the lightest but simpy just so robust, imagine all aks wooden parts replaced with metal. Stock didnt fold which i liked unlike in upgraded versions (rk 95) folding stock. Edit: since Finland joined NATO I think next RK will probably be 556, which Id love to test out.
@@zanib8880no, most wooden parts replaced with polymer parts on the RK. Also I believe the next service rifle will be a AR based system, which is kinda stupid since the FDF just got done with the whole modrrnization of the RK62 thing. The RK62 M series are all super great looking rifles(M1, M2 & M3), unfortunately haven’t got to testing one(atleast not yet).
"Balashnikov" sounds like a joke name that a video game would make up to avoid paying licensing for a gun. It would have been hilarious if they kept the name.
In colloquial Egyptian Arabic dialect, one of the meanings of the word “balash” means “free”, as in “cost free” or “for free”, which makes “Balashnikov” a great name for a gun designer, who ripped his gun design off of a Russian dude named Kalashnikov, without paying for a production license!
One of the more interesting development recently is Vietnam, of all people, got license to produce the Galil, and a few other Israeli small arms like machine gun and sniper rifles locally. Vietnam traditionally used Combloc small arms but for quite some time already, the military marksman demonstration teams have been increasingly using NATO ones and the armed force is slowly switching to 5.56 over the 7.62. The reason is China is slowly going from "Communist brother-in-arms" to "historical enemy" (a small border clash involving 400k troops leaving 60k dead) and the USA going from "new imperialist wanting to have peaceful revolution" to "new friend". Vietnam military doctrine is little more than the ol' "People's War" but as a Jewish strategist puts it, as a small country, the only way to deter invasion is to put a weapon in each man, teach him to shoot and promise the invader that his tank may go anywhere but once the crew turn off the tank and go to sleep, they are killed by the locals. In such context, having organic small arms manufacturing capability is important.
Well since you have the ‘China Fishing Fleet Militia’ claiming the waters 50km East of Cam Ranh Bay is historically theirs what do you expect? And Galils are nothing compared to SPYDER SAM systems to greet the next PLAAF jet that over flies your Northern border. IAI probably sold a turn-key Galil-Ace factory - they did the same for Ukraine (Fort)
Soul Chicken in many Vietnamese minds, it already is. In others, it's half-and-half. Also like China, there are probably fewer sincere Communists there than Australia. I'm living in Brisbane, the third biggest city and for the last 2 years I saw posters for Marxist conference. A political party ran with, no kidding, "Workers of the World unite". In my previous 18 years in Vietnam, I didn't see such advertisement. No point arguing over the past though. For eg, McCain might have been a staunch anti-Communist, but at the same time, he was among the leading figures in the US Senate for making friends with Vietnam. Strategic concerns trump ideologies. It was true a long time ago, and it's true now.
bakters land wars have a tendency of screeching to a halt (unlike sea or air). The initial phase can be quite bloody because new tenchologies making the battlefield too lethal; but generally by sheer Darwinism, once everyone figure out how to use folds of the terrain and other camouflage techniques, it bogs down. Once the locals become insurgents and the invaders are unwilling to go apeshit genocidal, things really bog down. Paraphrasing Basil Liddle Hart but you can fly over a terrain, bomb it to dust but if you want to preserve it for humans to live in, you need people to occupy it. That's when guerrillas become effective. Having a population who knows how to shoot can't hurt. In Vietnam 18 year-olds who are not University students are up for an 18 months draft. University students are sent to basic training in real camps for 3 months or so. High school students are taught basic things like first aid, how to crawl, field strip of an AK, how to throw a grenade, etc ...
@David Tarara In most ceremonies we drink wine and on weddings, birthdays or whatever, we also like to drink. Jews that dont drink are probably anti alcoholic because of health reasons, like some christians and others, or something like that. Even during dinner we like to drink wine or even some good whisky afterwards.
I commissioned a Galil clone build this week ( with an original side carry handle, bayonet lug and bi-pod ). I've been going down an internet rabbit hole about the IMI Galil and I have to say - THIS is the best video on UA-cam about this rifle. I've re-watched it several times. ( wish I could give it 100 thumbs up ) The other super interesting video ( that shows up WAY further back in UA-cam ) is called "Former IDF Soldier: Galil Presentation". He points out that the intention of the Galil's folding stock style was so soldiers could "shoulder bump" the stock - I have that stock on my AK and I never knew that was the intent. It's a fascinating gun.
AtticWarrior1994 it works like a charm! But we had to explain to the other guys that we were drinking cream sodas instead of beer. You know. Live range, ammo and all.
Well, considering every swiss soldier is already equipped with his corresponding swiss knife, why bothering to add a bottle opener to a rifle? (The integrated wire cutter thou keeps being a ingenious feature of the Galil)
Hello Ian! Great video, as always. Here is the deal with Finland, RK62 and Galil. They actually manufactured the first batch of Galil receivers in Finland and shipped them to Israel as "machinery spare parts".
Israelis made a wise choice when they adopted best of the best and produced this great rifle! AK-47 and Finnish RK62 sights, structure and some their own design and manufacturing ideas...very impressive.
@@mbulelobam7529 The South Africans made several modifications: improved sights, replaced the wooden stocks with foldable stocks (for the larger Afrikaner frame), removed the carry-handle, etc.
Israelis made it a 5.56 because of all the cheap US ammo they could get. That wasn't an improvement over the RK-62 it was a financial choice based on their particular situation.
Heard a story about a time one of these rifles fell into a lake. About 25 years later someone found it and it was fully operational even without cleaning it. My dad fired a Galil, he always mentioned how little you have to take care of it. While you had to clean it up to be safe, the Galil never really needed this much care.
I was in Israel when the Cave of the Patriarchs shooting took place. There was a rather sick joke going round at the time that the IDF had launched an investigation into it because they needed to find out why the Galil had jammed.
Carried one of these in Africa after my service in the IDF. Coming from using an AR's for most of my service, I really hated the Galil at first. Same ammo and much heavier than my old M4, but after a while I grew to really appreciate the weapon. Extremely reliable and high quality. Loved learning about it's development! Thanks Ian!
2:23 - Ian, you pretty much mixed up all the names and the history - Israel Galili's birth surname was Balashnikov (original family name from Russia, it is NOT "Jewish sounding", but rather typically Russian), he later changed it to Galili, which means "of Galilee" in Hebrew. He wasn't born in Russia, but in Mandatory Palestine, his parents moved there BEFORE his birth. Mishmar Ha'yarden (the Guard of Jordan river" in Hebrew) is a village in the Upper Galilee, maybe it was his birth PLACE, but i couldn't verify this...
Although radium has a long half-life, the alpha radiation can destroy the flourescent paint. So although a radium-based component can no longer be glowing it may still be dangerously radioactive. Though being an alpha emitter it's only really dangerous if ingested.
I had an army issued watch, it might have been made by Timex, I don't remember for sure. It had a glow in the dark face and engraved on the back of the case were the words "to be disposed of as radioactive waste". I probably used it for about 5 years and my hand never fell off, so it couldn't have been too bad.
I saw a bit of a documentary about the ladies who painted that radium paint on watches and such before and during WW2. Apparently they all started getting mouth cancer in the 50s and most were dead by the 70s and 80s. Turned out they were instructed to make the paint brush bristles into a fine point by running it under their front teeth.
@@minuteman4199 Alpha particles are trivial to stop (which also means you'll absorb each and every one if the material is ingested) if not already in the paint/phosphors itself, then by the case/glass
@@snikrepak In Finland, we used any 90* surface, and got yelled by officers when caps chipped off parts of table. Window ledge was more sturdy, but took more skill.
This is what I carried around for 18 months in the SADF. Basics with an R1 (FN) but after that you got a R4 (Galil). Awesome piece of kit. Can't say I ever had a 'storing' (Jam)
I carried this damn riffle every day for a good part of my service... And it was a long version, since I haven't any connections in the armory... Believe me, I haven't forgotten...
Same, it's incredible how unwieldy the Galil AR actually is, especially when you end up doing urban combat training or such. Even the SAR, even though a only a bit shorter was better.
I was in the Colombian Army when they replaced our G3 for this Galil and it was way better more light and precise specially in the jungle warfare that we where fighting against the communist guerrilla but the 7.62 ammo is heavy to carrier any way it performed very well
@@humbertoruiz116 I mean yeah it's better than a G3 for infantry forces, no duh. It's kinda of weird how long a lot of European Militaries decided to wait until replacing the G3/FAL
I carried one just like this during my IDF service - the sights weren't such a good idea since they tend to catch lint - other than that a formidable rifle.
I remember my dad had one of these somewhere around 2000 when he was still in the IDF reserves. In my memories the Galil was as big as an FN MAG! :D By my time we had the shortened M16A2, Tavor-21/X95 and M4, but the M16s and M-4s are slowly being phased out.
I seem to recall reading somewhere (can't find the source now) that Shlomo Zabludowicz facilitated the sale of the RK62 technical package to Israel. He founded Soltam, an Israeli subsidiary of the Finnish artillery manufacturer Tampella in the 50's, so the arms industry connection between the countries was already well established when the Galil development was happening.
@@wewlad8697 it is, and he used to be the richest Finnish citizen as well. :D His son Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz is currently the richest Finnish-born Finnish citizen.
Galils are based heavily on the Finnish Valmet M-62 AR and Valmet/Sako export AR versions in .223/.308 LMG models. You can say they are close copies even. The Finnish M-92S and M-95 on the other hand borrowed some design features from the Galil models - You could say that the circle has become full :)
@@Chiefshadow4 Well no. Finnish RK 62 was based on the AK-47, but if you for example compare the sights in RK 62 and AK-47 you do see one of the improvements the Finns made.
Excellent description,amusing when Ian declared he was not going too deeply into examining the gas system,then stripped the whole thing down! He's so devoted!
Cool. You know Ian also made a video a few months ago which went into the differences between Galils and the South African R4 R5 R6 LM4 LM5 and LM6. Really interesting video which I have downloaded and watched about a dozen times now
Was issued the micro Galil for my service in the IDF. Loved it. Even adopted an AK47 forward hand grip instead of the plastic one and had a poly mag as well. Carried it on me 24/7, no hassle, even when seated, or driving.
These guns are really cool and all, and I always wanted one, until I took one to the range for a day. They're heavy, not as accurate as I expected, and have surprisingly heavy recoil in 5.56. They're still cool and all, just can't justify a $4-5k pricetag personally.
@Gray Au honestly the only thing they have over the at platform is durability and reliability in field situations, but honestly after shooting one, would take a post 2008 WASR over an early Galil any day.
@Gray Au just saw this comment and I shit you not it's my favorite too! There are much 'cooler' guns around but those things are accurate, indestructible, surprisingly comfortable to shoot, and (though they're way more expensive now) cheap. Still kick myself for selling my factory 26 years ago. Haven't had one since but always want to spend money I shouldn't when I see one for sale.
I'm not surprised about the accuracy, converting an AK to 5.56 isn't going to make it fire like an AR, and I have heard how heavy they are, but I'm surprised about the recoil - you'd think a heavy bodied 5.56 rifle would be super controllable. Kalashnikov pattern rifles do tend to eject their shells really aggressively, so maybe that was the issue. Still, if someone told me to jump in quicksand before a firefight, I'd take this over a FAL or M16. Haven't heard much about the reliability of Tavors, just that they're a bit pricey and have the usual bullpup problems.
The IDF issued ARM rifles had no carry handle. Also, many issued SAR rifles had ARM rear handguard retainers with the bipod hooks. This worked great for off-duty IDF to rubber band a magazine to the rifle for off-duty carry. An IDF requirement.
Steyr AUG is an Austrian Service Rifle not Swiss the Swiss have the SIG 550 or in Swiss Army called Assault Rifle 90 the Steyr AUG is called Assault Rifle 77 in Austrian Army
@@LIONTAMER3D No you are completle wrong the australian army uses the AUG aswell but it was Inventet in Austria in the late 1960s if you have never heard of austria its a country next to Germany and Switzerland they use this Rifle from 1977 on the Australian Defence Force got it 10 Years later as the F88 Rifle, do your own Research on Wikipedia
@@LIONTAMER3D You Are an Idiot what means AUG ? You know it ? I guess not AUG stands for Armee UniversalGewehr guess wich language that is ? Its german and it means Army Universal Rifle, german is the official language in Austria Idiot
@@LIONTAMER3D Austria uses the Rifle from 1978 on it was developed already in the late 1960s, Austrialia uses the Rifle till 1988, how can a Country that has not invented the weapon use it 10 years earlyier than the country that has invented it does that makes any sense to you ?
@@LIONTAMER3D Even the Name Steyr "Steyr AUG", Steyr is the name of the Company that first Produced the Rifle its named after the City Steyr in Austria in Australia there is no City called Steyr
Having been in the Estonian Defence Forces I loved this. The 35 round mag is great for extended firefights(we usually carried 6 mags each so 200+ rounds) and the weight was more than bearable. There was no contest between this and the AK-4(a swedish G3 copy) which had more weight, recoil and length but less ammo capacity.
@@peabase Not apples and oranges, as these are the two standard rifles in the EDF at the moment. So the comparison is apt. Although now a M4 variant is being adopted.
@@erikmarkuskannike7526 My point is, they the differ in characteristics. You could make a case that pistols are superior to assault rifles because they're lighter, but that wouldn't be a fair comparison.
As it is with many in my age, Counter Strike (particularly 1.6) brought me the sense of amusement about guns, their machinery, and their effectiveness. The fact that it was almost identical (in-game mechanics, visual, etc) to the AK-47 was not lost by much of the playerbase. Very nice explanation of the history, and it's relationship to that iconic rifle.
It can also be a name. Most Hebrew names mean something. Most people's names until Greek times meant something literal. Moses means drawn from the water and Benjamin mean son of the south.
Most Israeli Chad thing I've ever heard *They would open beer bottles with Uzi mags so Galili just said fuck it and built in a bottle opener on the gun itself.*
The amount of details and knowledge you have for each and every weapon you examine and the casualness with which you present it all is just mindboggling !! You're a living encyclopedia ... Wonder why you're not hired yet to build your own stuff ??
@Lassi Kinnunen Valmet chief designer Timo Hyytinen wrote in his book that they used to produce a batch of the receivers for Israel, but later the Israelis set up their own production lines, where Valmet provided assistance too. Interestingly, the Swedish FFV 890C was joint offer of IMI and Valmet for FFV, as both IMI and Valmet manufactured parts for the 1000 or so prototype rifles.
Love your channel and in-depth research but must note a small correction (I live in Israel and speak Hebrew, so it's easier for me to gather information) Your pronunciation was just fine. But his name was never the Mishmar HaYarden. Mishmar HaYarden was a town where he was born. The meaning of the name is The jorden(river) Guard An interesting story about this settlement is that in 1948, there were members of Hagana and Etzel members living there. When seven Arab armies attacked Israel, the Syrians attacked Mishmar HaYarden at a 20 to 1 ratio and with tanks that were not available to the settlement . The Hagana demanded its people to extradite the Etzel fighters to Syrians and because they refused and stood shoulder to shoulder With their friends in arms, the Hagana did not send reinforcements and prevented the Etzel from sending reinforcements after a heroic battle some of the town men were taken prisoner and some were killed. The Hagana took their houses and lend and gave them to those close to power. Even after their release from captivity, the IDF (run by former Hagana ministers) refused to give the settlement fighters the signal of the War of Independence. All this because they did not give their friends arms to the Syrians
Love, love, love, this weapon system. First came into contact with one in S. America and have been in love since. They are great jungle rifles. Function great in humidity and constant wet, hot, muddy of a jungle theater. And a lot more accurate than an AK. The absolute best of both the AR and AK families.
When I was like 7, back in 85' I was already collecting Gun Digests and these were some of my most "When I grow up I'm getting these rifles", that I ever had. Somehow, they seem rare around here, and regardless of my military service and 6 years as a gun dealer, have never handled either of those two pristine examples.
I bought one exactly like that right when the importation ban went into effect in 1989. I sold it a few years later, and now I'm kicking myself for doing it.
Greetings from israel! Love your channel Just a small correction: He was born as israel balashnikov, in israel to a jewish russian family (thus the name). Later he changed it to galili (before he worked on this riffle). He lived in mishmar hanegev for a while but it wasent his name (its a kibbutz).
I had a Galil for most of my IDF service. They were never issued with the carrying handle, and we would remove the tripod to conserve weight. The Galilon was a shorter version that was issued to the armored corps.
@@vitocarbonara7770 Definitely the Tavor assault rifle. The Galil Ace is also a fantasic assault rifle, however not issued to the IDF. Tavor seems a better fit with Israel's combat doctrine
Ian, I think you've made a few mistakes about Yisrael Galili: Yisrael Galili (Balashnikov) was born in would-be Israel (British Mandatory Palestine) in 1923, in a *place* called Mishmar HaYarden (lit. "Guard/Outpost of the Jordan [river]"), which is located in the region of the Galilee. It would make sense that he would rename himself after the region he grew up in (Galili/Galilee), it would not make sense that *his own* name was Mishmar HaYarden. Changing his name to Balachnikov would not have made sense - it's even less Hebrew sounding. Edit to clarify: "Galili" in Hebrew means "Of the Galil"/"Belongs to the Galil", and Galil in turn - in English is translated as "Galilee" (e.g Sea of Galilee). Which makes this slightly confusing. Edit 2: Additionally, these weren't directly replaced by the Tavor. The last Galils in service were in use by the Armoured Corps in the Glilon variant (shortened Galil) up until ~2004, due to their small size when the stock is collapsed. The Armoured Corps are not supposed to get the Tavor anytime soon to replace their M4s.
I googled "Mishmar HaYarden" and i was confused to see, that there is a place in Israel with the same name. Clearly it was not his name. Balashnikov, on the over hand is russian name.
Ian pretty much mixed up all the names and the history - Israel Galili's birth name was Balashnikov, he later changed it to he wasn't born in Russia, but in Mandatory Palestine, Mishmar Ha'yarden is a village in the Upper Galilee, it could be a place where he was born or lived, but i couldn't verify this...
@@Zannooda You are confusing Yisrael Galili (born Yisrael Berchenko ) the Israeli politician born 1911 in Ukraine and died died 8 February 1986, with Yisrael Galili (born Yisrael Balashnikov) the weapons designer, who was in fact born in Israel ("Mandatory Palestine") in 1923 and died March 9, 1995. I didn't listen very closely to Ian in this video, so I would assume that it's possible he made the same mistake.
And actually, Galili was a very common name for migrant families to change to, no matter where you came from. My mother's maiden name was Galili, and unlike the two Yisrael Galilis, her family came from Iraq.
Greetings from Israel, Mishmar HaYarden is actually a name of an Israely village, and not Galili's birth name, which was Yisrael Balashnikov. Also, he was born in Israel and not Russia, but that obviously was before the establishment of the state of Israel
@@ksenomorf170 > its possible to open a bottle with an blanket Okay, I never tried blankets, but I know that e.g. most gas lighters, a sheet of paper folded in the right way, the edges of tables (or almost any surface with a sharp enough edge), many field or other knifes (as well as other cutlery such as spoons, forks etc.), different tools such as e.g. pliers (or basically any tool with a sharp edge) or just a second bottle held upside down also do the job well (and technically, one could also use their teeth, but that's just very stupid). So, about using a blanket: care to elaborate how that's done? :-)
My father was a fan of the Galil or FAL. He was 82’nd AA during the late 50’s to early 60’s. Had a friend who was in the 6 day war. Israel took what they knew worked and ran with it with this rifle with the caliber they wanted.
Great clip. I enjoyed it very much. It brought me back to my miltary service days when I had a Galil rifle (late 80's - early 90's). Later when I became an Officer I had the Glilon (in Hebrew it means "Little Galil") ehich is practically the same rifle only with a short barrel and weighs 0.8 Kg less. Great rifle for it's time. One small error. The inventor you mentioned is indeed Israel Galili (Galili = from the Galilee region) born Israel Balishnikov. What you mention as his name Mishmar Hayarden is not a person's name but the name of a Kibbutz not far from the sea of Galillee. Great Clip. I loved it.
I had one in 1980 at the beginning of my military service. later on that year in "makim" course when I received an RPG, my Galil was exchanged for a Glilon. I was still a private and there were still officers who hadn't yet received the Glilon. Boy was I proud.
There was always something that I always liked about the Galil and the FN-FAL. Never got the pleasure of firing either, but there was something that always caught my eye about them.
So the Russians send Kalashnikovs to the Arabs, who then lose them to the Israelis, who then hire an Israeli who used to be a Russian, to take these Kalashnikovs that used to be Russian, and make an Israeli gun out of them.
And his name used to be Balashnikov.
...and now I have a headache.
Yisrael Balashnikov aka Yisrael Galili (not to be confused with the Israeli politician Yisrael Galili) was born in Israel ("Mandatory Palestine") in 1923. His Jewish ancestors had come from the Ukraine nearly two centuries prior. And, even further back in time, his Jewish ancestors that moved to the Ukraine, had come from Syria. So, long story short, he was an ethnic Levantine {Mizrahi} Jew whose family adopted a Slavic surname, but he was never in any way a 'Russian'. Syria-->Ukraine-->Israel.... Your headache should now be a migraine.
@@Wabi-sabi8551 I _just_ put the Tylenol back in the medicine cabinet, man!
And when Israelis like captured AK's they went and ordered some RK-62's AK style rifles from Finland and copied some construction from them.
@@Wabi-sabi8551 nice Story bro, what you call Ukraine didnt even exist at that time. It was just western Russia so he was Russian
@@Wabi-sabi8551 Ukraine didn't really exist back then. It was Russian edge or Little Russia.
I feel like Balashnikov was literally just Mikhail Kalashnikov wearing a fake mustache so he could play around with his design some more.
Well, both Galili and Uzi Gal had 70's porn mustaches, so...
Funny
It's funny you should say that... the word "Balash" in Hebrew means detective... kinda like a Sherlock Holmes thing :)
When you create multiple accounts for the free trials
And this is the quiet one, Mr Bimmler - Heimlich Bimmler.
Bottle opener?
Wire cutters?
And a built-in rifle?
Sign me up!
Bottle opener - needed for drinking on the job
Wire cutter - needed to escape out of prison
Rifle - just a luxury feature to celebrate an escape but there's no beer around
@@WhosYourPoPo bottle opener for liquud courage
Wire cutters for home invasion
Rifle for killing babies
It should also be a key chain
@@elhuuselhuus2521 Sounds fun, if it's arab babys!
@@levspivak8759 it would sound that way to animals in human clothing.
Government : what do you have there?
Me : a bottle opener
Mosad officer: checks out
I liked that they added a sense of humour to the gun because the Israeli soldiers were said to use the magazines from guns as bottle openers. Not only does it have a bottle opener it has 2 of it and an additional wire cutter. This is my new favorite -gun- _bottle opener._
HAHAHA. But it is also a wire cutter, thus a ranching tool.
1k hahahaha
@@lenny_1369
It's less sense of humour, but necessity if there is no other way to make sure that the freaking soldiers stop ruining their mags. Lots of rifles have wire cutters.
I've never seen a bottle opener that comes with a rifle
Mosin's have bottle openers
@@tanay9540 *woosh*
Well, it's not really built in, if you're a bit creative, the standard AUG A1 of the Austrian Army does offer some possibilities too (although using the magazine feed lips from the magazines is a BAD idea, because the AUGs polymer magazines don't respond very well to such abuse - which in turn generally leads to supply sergeants and COs doing exactly the same).
But let's be honest:
Give a soldier a bottle with alcohol in it and no bottle opener, and he will _always_ find something which does the job, innit? :-)
@@tanay9540 mosins serve as, table legs, baseball bats and bottle openers
They can also ya know be a rifle an all
Beats the junk that you'd see on eBay.
"Let's make a civilian version !"
"Make sure the bayonet lug is removed, they go nuts when they see one on a civilian gun."
"And the grenade launcher muzzle ?"
"Naah, you can leave that ..."
I guess it comes down to what is easier to source. A bayonet or a grenade.
@@VenturiLife A bayonet launcher!!!
Have you ever heard of a criminal bayonet charging someone?
@@B52Stratofortress1 Nah, 'cause we banned them.
@@ironraccoon3536 Nah, because kitchen knives are much easier to come and get than a bayonet
""Can I copy your homework ? Yeah just change a little so that it's not obvious you plagiarized me"""
-Thank you Kalashnikov
- No problem Balishnikov
Bernie Gran kalashnikov copied the Germans
NERD
Bernie Gran Kalashnikov copy by STG 44 Germany!!!!!
The AK borrowed more from the M1 Garand than from any German gun.
@@georgehanciuc8124 not the gun but the concept
You know it is a kosher rifle when the muzzle is circumcised
Recoil, it is said, it quite bris.
@Anonymous Person just mad cause u ain't circumcised?
Guys, lets not bring child abuse into this, can we not just enjoy the video?
@@joshualance6005 hey lets argur about our dicks, ye that seems like it wont cost me brain cells
Speaking of the bris and circumcision a buddy of mine of about 50 years was a cop (retired now oh and he a christian by the way that will help at the end). I had a special phone number to call for the county wide dispatch system to get in touch with him. It was never anything important but dispatch always needed a name, the purpose of the call and a number for him to call back. One night I called in and said my name was Rabbi Abrahmavitz (it's not and I'm christian also) and said the reason for the call concerned his upcoming bris ceremony and left a number for him to call back ASAP. When dispatch put this call out on the radio, cops from about 5/6 different departments heard it. They busted his ass for several days after. 😄LOL, LOL
Fun fact: the 6 day war was the last war where Panzers fought Shermans (Amongst other tanks) for the finale time in history.
"6 days and five hours, your generation likes to forget that."
You don't mess with the zohan.
@@chucknutly3290 actually, it lasted 5 days and a few hours...
@@marcodeodorico7618 It's a quote.
Marco De Odorico zohan's dad lied?!
@@chucknutly3290 I mean yeah, that's what you can do when you sneak attack your neighbors....
Balashnikov: Hey, can I copy your homework?
Kalashnikov: Yeah, just don't make it too obvious.
*Adds a bottle opener
And 5.56*
And an bipod*
Patch notes:
-Added quality of life changes.
This made me actually Lol
Balashnikov and Kalasnhikov sound a lot like Bollywood and Hollywood...
@@dragonstormdipro1013 Wtf?
Taking one thing from another and making it worse by a lot 101
Guide by 🅱alashnikov
Kala sounds better..
Soviet Doge You will be surprised how many bad Hollywood movies there are
@@combowombo6300 but compare to Bollywood ... I'd rather have Hollywood.
Balashnikov sounds exactly like a Chinese (copyright infringement) knock-off.
The Balashnikov AK-74
"No one will spot the difference - we can sell it alongside Durberry and Armoni clothes".
Sony Guts!
I bought a pair of Adidos at a bazaar in the Green Zone in '04. It was the brand with 4 stripes.
It's in their next hit MOBA/FPS title, Oversee, developed by the company Snowstorm.
Like reading Comments Make me happy.
4c1dr3fl3x I had some Abibas in Iraq
"Colombia replaced their G3's with Galils"
*angry german noises*
The G3 was uh...not that good...and I'm saying that as a German unironically...
*Colombia*
@@N0t_M4linka lies
@@N0t_M4linka What are you on about? The G3 was, given the right gunsight is equipped, used as a sniper up to 3 km lol. One of the best guns Germany ever produced
@@N0t_M4linka G36c is very good tho , unlike the standard G36 wich has a horrible weapon
merican weapons:
m1
m2
m3
m4
german weapons:
g1
g2
g3
g4
israeli wepons:
galil
uzi
negev
desert eagle
Reality of Middle East urges us to be "friend" with weapon that protect life. And a friend - you give name. Btw, there are more than 4 name😅
Desert Eagle was originally American developed.
@@michaelalexander3078 BuT... ThE nAzIs
Forgot the tavor
@@ELPYES actually the Desert Eagle was already designed and developed in the U.S by MRI, then the design was refined in Israel by I.M.I, and well MRI is an American Company, so the Desert Eagle was actually mainly designed in the U.S and not Israel.
"Sorry sir you need a license for those"
Oh no sorry this isn't a rifle this is a bottle opener, see?
"Nevermind sir"
ITT: ATF announces regulations on tactical bottle openers.
A fancy bootie opener thou
Later that evening.
“No it’s a Balashnikov. B…alashnikov”.
“Sorry. My mistake”.
Definitely brings back memories!
The benchmark for a well maintained and lubricated stock was being able to fold it with a smack against your shoulder 😃
The hollow pistol grip was a good place to keep a rag for cleaning the gun.
Good guns, definitely very reliable.
That's how I closed my stock too, and where I kept my rag!
@@badgermcbadger1968 It's actually really easy. Just gotta know how.
Not to mention being pretty accurate, and extremely modular.
🅱️alashnikov
galil 🅱️Israel 🅱️alashnikov
Lol
I knew somebody was going to do this lmao
The lords work is being done here.
It 🅱️ like that sometimes
"Yisrael Balashnikov developed a number of prototype rifles based on AK actions"... That name, I mean come on.
@@Shatnerpossum That's son of Baal to you.
🅱️alashnikov
@@Shatnerpossum well, there is no word like "ball" or "balach" in Russian so I guess Baal version is the right one.
Its obviously in the SHNIKOV!
The meaning of the surname Balashnikov:
History of the surname Balashnikov belongs to the Ukrainian-Russian regions.
Surname Balashnikov formed from the nickname "Balashnik". According to one of the versions, it originates from the Türkic common "balash" with the meaning "child". Probably, parents called "Balashnik" a long-awaited, beloved baby.
It is also possible that the basis for the nickname was a distorted Turkic “balas” - “precious stone", "gem”. In this case, the nickname Balashnik refers to "professional" naming, containing an indication of the activities of the founder of the name: he could be a jeweler or a dealer in jewels. Although it is possible that Balashnik called the rich man. Balashnik formed the basis of the surname Balashnikov.
Mishmar HaYarden is a place is Israel, so it was not his name, its a mistake. He changed his name from Yisrael Balashnikov to Yisrael Galili.
"It's an original Balashnikov."
"Wait, did you say it's a Balashnikov or Kalashnikov?"
*"Yes."*
The Galil is one fine weapon. I remember working with elite paratroopers in Honduras who were armed with the Galil. A very good idea for Israel. Also some of the aditions they added work very well, like the modified bolt handle, rear sites, bottle opener and bipod which increases accuracy, and of course folding stock. High quality for sure.
I’m from Guatemala when I served in the army 10 years ago they already bought the new Tavor and micro tavor 5.56. But they where a lot of Galil’s still in service. We got three versions Galil RM that has the bipod, Galil KEL that was only semi auto and was design for the troops that went weeks to track the guerrilas in the jungle and mountains and finally the Galil SAR that had a shorter barrel but was auto and semi for the squad leaders. Hell of a rifle I’m so glad I was able to use it a lot during my service.
I hated mine. I preferred using the M4 when we switched.
@@avrahamhirsch2724 Who wouldn't prefer an M4, but will your M4 still fire WHILE being buried in a sand dune?
@@pedrowhack-a-mole6786
I was never buried in sand dunes. All of our sand dunes border countries with peace agreements (Egypt and Jordan). All hostile areas will either be urban or forrest, so I still prefer the M-4.
@@avrahamhirsch2724 I was trying to make an analogy about the maintenance requirements of both weapons and I failed. In the end, the frequency of maintenance and time it takes are part of the job.
@@pedrowhack-a-mole6786 AKs will fail with any substantial amount of debris that falls into the receiver through it's huge fucking receiver gap, especially the trigger mechanism. However it would be pretty easy to get it working again. Moot point tho, AK is relatively out dated. The only acceptable way to design a proper rifle design these days is to design rifles like the AR-15, where the debris is kept outside of the rifle. An M4 can be buried in sand, pulled out and fired, unlike an AK. The AR-15 is also MUCH better suited for mud, for the same reasons. Mud getting caked inside an AK is a recipe for disaster.
However the AK does do pretty well when fine particulate dust is floating in the air, they're also easy to clean. It's not a bad design, just from an older design era.
Galil's 1st jewish name change from Russian was "Israel Balashnikov"
I spit out my coffee laughing.
@T K I second this.
@@WTFisTingispingis i second it. So it is
There was show I saw one time and there was a family who changed their last name. They said they their last name was originally BonGiorno, but they changed it to something that "sounded less Italian", BonGino. 🤔
In reality it was just Kalashinikov's attempt at a clever disguise
It's a mistake. Ian pretty much mixed up all the names and the history - Israel Galili's birth surname was Balashnikov (original family name from Russia, it is NOT "Jewish sounding", but rather typically Russian), he later changed it to Galili, which means "of Galilee" in Hebrew. He wasn't born in Russia, but in Mandatory Palestine, his parents moved there BEFORE his birth. Mishmar Ha'yarden (the Guard of Jordan river" in Hebrew) is a village in the Upper Galilee, maybe it was his birth PLACE, but i couldn't verify this...
"Mom, can we get AK47?"
"You know what? I'll show you how to make AK47 at home, they taste better anyways."
The one time mom was right about that in this case, lmao
Mom? Can we get a bottle opener?
“Here you go, and there is a built in rifle!”
Holy shit, an original spin on this tired joke!
Having used both, I'd prefer a Galil over an AK.
When your mom is a gunsmith
"Mishmar Hayarden" was the name of a small village in Galilee in northern Israel. Galili's original name was Israel Barchenko.
Still is.
is kibutz
@@netalieberman5858 I think back then it still wasn't in the form of a kibbutz, the reformation to one happened later, no?
But that's a completely different person. The rifle was developed by Israel Galil (formerly Balashnikov), with no 'i' at the end. And he was born there, not in Russia. Israel Galili, with an i, who is the one born Barchenko, was not born in Russia either but in Ukraine, and he was a Hagana officer and later parliament member.
@@noamto You're right, I got the two confused. They both had an "I" in the end of the name though.
The similarities between the Galil and the Valmet RK62 is astounding. A head to head comparison would be neat.
Well, Rk 62 was really just improved version of the og Ak47. Improvement being mostly due to far greater manufacturing standards. I served for a year+ with rk 62, and never had any problems whatsoever. Unbeliavable fire power, really great iron sights. Not the lightest but simpy just so robust, imagine all aks wooden parts replaced with metal. Stock didnt fold which i liked unlike in upgraded versions (rk 95) folding stock.
Edit: since Finland joined NATO I think next RK will probably be 556, which Id love to test out.
@@zanib8880 a little late i believe its going to be based on the ar platform
@@zanib8880no, most wooden parts replaced with polymer parts on the RK. Also I believe the next service rifle will be a AR based system, which is kinda stupid since the FDF just got done with the whole modrrnization of the RK62 thing. The RK62 M series are all super great looking rifles(M1, M2 & M3), unfortunately haven’t got to testing one(atleast not yet).
Well Valmet sold the production line of RK 62 to Israel. Its not a copy. Its RK 62 with Israeli modification.
"Balashnikov" sounds like a joke name that a video game would make up to avoid paying licensing for a gun. It would have been hilarious if they kept the name.
In colloquial Egyptian Arabic dialect, one of the meanings of the word “balash” means “free”, as in “cost free” or “for free”, which makes “Balashnikov” a great name for a gun designer, who ripped his gun design off of a Russian dude named Kalashnikov, without paying for a production license!
Am I the only one who thinks that a guy named Yisrael Balashnikov developing Kalashnikov-derivatives for Israel is pretty damn funny?
As a side line he also makes Tommy Hilfinger aftershave!
No, people pointed out the same thing hours before you and Ian basically joked about it in the video. You know it's not just you, don't play dumb.
His first name is also just isreal with a y
If you read between the lines his name is isreal kalashnikov, a human derivative of kalashnikov.
They will steal and claim anything as their own.
Yes ( ;
One of the more interesting development recently is Vietnam, of all people, got license to produce the Galil, and a few other Israeli small arms like machine gun and sniper rifles locally. Vietnam traditionally used Combloc small arms but for quite some time already, the military marksman demonstration teams have been increasingly using NATO ones and the armed force is slowly switching to 5.56 over the 7.62. The reason is China is slowly going from "Communist brother-in-arms" to "historical enemy" (a small border clash involving 400k troops leaving 60k dead) and the USA going from "new imperialist wanting to have peaceful revolution" to "new friend".
Vietnam military doctrine is little more than the ol' "People's War" but as a Jewish strategist puts it, as a small country, the only way to deter invasion is to put a weapon in each man, teach him to shoot and promise the invader that his tank may go anywhere but once the crew turn off the tank and go to sleep, they are killed by the locals. In such context, having organic small arms manufacturing capability is important.
Well since you have the ‘China Fishing Fleet Militia’ claiming the waters 50km East of Cam Ranh Bay is historically theirs what do you expect? And Galils are nothing compared to SPYDER SAM systems to greet the next PLAAF jet that over flies your Northern border.
IAI probably sold a turn-key Galil-Ace factory - they did the same for Ukraine (Fort)
Godspeed you funky lil' country
I'm from Poland and you made me think. We used to learn how to shoot in school. I think it's time to lobby for restarting this practice.
Soul Chicken in many Vietnamese minds, it already is. In others, it's half-and-half. Also like China, there are probably fewer sincere Communists there than Australia. I'm living in Brisbane, the third biggest city and for the last 2 years I saw posters for Marxist conference. A political party ran with, no kidding, "Workers of the World unite". In my previous 18 years in Vietnam, I didn't see such advertisement.
No point arguing over the past though. For eg, McCain might have been a staunch anti-Communist, but at the same time, he was among the leading figures in the US Senate for making friends with Vietnam. Strategic concerns trump ideologies. It was true a long time ago, and it's true now.
bakters land wars have a tendency of screeching to a halt (unlike sea or air). The initial phase can be quite bloody because new tenchologies making the battlefield too lethal; but generally by sheer Darwinism, once everyone figure out how to use folds of the terrain and other camouflage techniques, it bogs down. Once the locals become insurgents and the invaders are unwilling to go apeshit genocidal, things really bog down.
Paraphrasing Basil Liddle Hart but you can fly over a terrain, bomb it to dust but if you want to preserve it for humans to live in, you need people to occupy it. That's when guerrillas become effective.
Having a population who knows how to shoot can't hurt. In Vietnam 18 year-olds who are not University students are up for an 18 months draft. University students are sent to basic training in real camps for 3 months or so. High school students are taught basic things like first aid, how to crawl, field strip of an AK, how to throw a grenade, etc ...
“We won’t get them to stop drinking so just add a bottle opener” is Israeli pragmatism summed up in a nutshell.
you wouldn’t believe how accurate you are. especially the IDF.
Yeah. I legally cannot say much more than this: They work hard and party hard, so a bottle opener is useful.
@@innsignroadwork4130 hmm hope joking otherwise will make Arab revolt massacres look like joke
@David Tarara Have you ever seen a jewish party? In less than an hour literally everyone is completely wasted xD We love wine and beer.
@David Tarara In most ceremonies we drink wine and on weddings, birthdays or whatever, we also like to drink. Jews that dont drink are probably anti alcoholic because of health reasons, like some christians and others, or something like that. Even during dinner we like to drink wine or even some good whisky afterwards.
I commissioned a Galil clone build this week ( with an original side carry handle, bayonet lug and bi-pod ). I've been going down an internet rabbit hole about the IMI Galil and I have to say - THIS is the best video on UA-cam about this rifle. I've re-watched it several times. ( wish I could give it 100 thumbs up ) The other super interesting video ( that shows up WAY further back in UA-cam ) is called "Former IDF Soldier: Galil Presentation". He points out that the intention of the Galil's folding stock style was so soldiers could "shoulder bump" the stock - I have that stock on my AK and I never knew that was the intent. It's a fascinating gun.
Bottle opener built into a rifle? No doubt a greatest invention in firearms technology ever since firearms were invented :)
@Max William Lauf dont forget the german! You can use the folding stock on a G36 to open beer.
Particularly as Aluminum beverage cans were replacing glass bottles in the Sheqem, the Israeli PX, at about the same time!
Hands down the best firearms channel on the Tube!
This, InRange, C&Rsenal and Paul Harrell. I never miss an episode on any of those channels. I watch some others as well, but not like those 4.
We may or may not have tested the bottle opener... L'chaim!
Hopefully with a bottle of Maccabees beer!
Does it work?
AtticWarrior1994 it works like a charm! But we had to explain to the other guys that we were drinking cream sodas instead of beer. You know. Live range, ammo and all.
Back edge of a knife works fine
Goldstar unfiltered is so good. Cant wait to be back in Israel to pop some tops
Ah, the "Swiss Army Knife" of assault rifles.
Israeli Army Knife :P
Shame swiss didn't come up with this first
Well, considering every swiss soldier is already equipped with his corresponding swiss knife, why bothering to add a bottle opener to a rifle?
(The integrated wire cutter thou keeps being a ingenious feature of the Galil)
@@franciscoschwarz6451 Just because, you know...you can.
@@LIONTAMER3D 😲 got me 😬
As a colombian i can say the Galil is loved by the army due to the roughness of the rifle. Also i've never seen a 7.62 galil
The 7.62 Galil is an awesome piece of kit. Sadly they are impossible to get aftermarket magazines for. I had a Para version. It was a beast.
Hello Ian! Great video, as always. Here is the deal with Finland, RK62 and Galil. They actually manufactured the first batch of Galil receivers in Finland and shipped them to Israel as "machinery spare parts".
Israelis made a wise choice when they adopted best of the best and produced this great rifle! AK-47 and Finnish RK62 sights, structure and some their own design and manufacturing ideas...very impressive.
Soviets: "We make the best assault rifle ever."
Finns: "We improved on the design."
Israelis: "And then we made it even better."
South Africans: "let's copy the Israelis"
@@mbulelobam7529 The South Africans made several modifications: improved sights, replaced the wooden stocks with foldable stocks (for the larger Afrikaner frame), removed the carry-handle, etc.
@@Bennevisie yes , yes we did .
Israelis made it a 5.56 because of all the cheap US ammo they could get. That wasn't an improvement over the RK-62 it was a financial choice based on their particular situation.
The Israelis made the AK Rifle more Better!
Heard a story about a time one of these rifles fell into a lake.
About 25 years later someone found it and it was fully operational even without cleaning it.
My dad fired a Galil, he always mentioned how little you have to take care of it. While you had to clean it up to be safe, the Galil never really needed this much care.
I was in Israel when the Cave of the Patriarchs shooting took place. There was a rather sick joke going round at the time that the IDF had launched an investigation into it because they needed to find out why the Galil had jammed.
you forgot to mention the zombie killing capabilities of this gun
Lmfaoo IM DYIINGGGG
Like Hitler shoted😂
Kino der toten vibes
Hesperides didn’t take long to find this comment. Well played.
Been searching for this comment xD
Carried one of these in Africa after my service in the IDF. Coming from using an AR's for most of my service, I really hated the Galil at first. Same ammo and much heavier than my old M4, but after a while I grew to really appreciate the weapon. Extremely reliable and high quality. Loved learning about it's development! Thanks Ian!
2:23 - Ian, you pretty much mixed up all the names and the history - Israel Galili's birth surname was Balashnikov (original family name from Russia, it is NOT "Jewish sounding", but rather typically Russian), he later changed it to Galili, which means "of Galilee" in Hebrew. He wasn't born in Russia, but in Mandatory Palestine, his parents moved there BEFORE his birth. Mishmar Ha'yarden (the Guard of Jordan river" in Hebrew) is a village in the Upper Galilee, maybe it was his birth PLACE, but i couldn't verify this...
He's a Russian I get it.
👍
Tritium sights. Radium has a long enough half-life to still glow. There are watches with radium painted dials from the 30's that still glow.
Although radium has a long half-life, the alpha radiation can destroy the flourescent paint. So although a radium-based component can no longer be glowing it may still be dangerously radioactive. Though being an alpha emitter it's only really dangerous if ingested.
I had an army issued watch, it might have been made by Timex, I don't remember for sure. It had a glow in the dark face and engraved on the back of the case were the words "to be disposed of as radioactive waste". I probably used it for about 5 years and my hand never fell off, so it couldn't have been too bad.
I saw a bit of a documentary about the ladies who painted that radium paint on watches and such before and during WW2. Apparently they all started getting mouth cancer in the 50s and most were dead by the 70s and 80s. Turned out they were instructed to make the paint brush bristles into a fine point by running it under their front teeth.
@@minuteman4199 Alpha particles are trivial to stop (which also means you'll absorb each and every one if the material is ingested) if not already in the paint/phosphors itself, then by the case/glass
Could one paint over the old Tritium with new Radium?
I remember being disciplined for using a magazine as a bottle opener almost 30 years ago
That's why I use my teeth
Ieuan Hunt OUCH... 😖
If you can't open a bottle with anything then you don't deserve to have a bottle, let alone a glass one.
Daniel, איזה חטיבה אתא? אני גולני גדוד 51
@@snikrepak In Finland, we used any 90* surface, and got yelled by officers when caps chipped off parts of table. Window ledge was more sturdy, but took more skill.
This is what I carried around for 18 months in the SADF. Basics with an R1 (FN) but after that you got a R4 (Galil). Awesome piece of kit. Can't say I ever had a 'storing' (Jam)
We used these in South Africa, R4 SADF. Great rifle.
We use them in Colombia. Indestructible!
R5 in the armoured corpse. Loved it!
I carried this damn riffle every day for a good part of my service... And it was a long version, since I haven't any connections in the armory... Believe me, I haven't forgotten...
Same, it's incredible how unwieldy the Galil AR actually is, especially when you end up doing urban combat training or such. Even the SAR, even though a only a bit shorter was better.
How shame of u forgetting to bring ur bottle opener...
@@erikmarkuskannike7526 yes but remember the muzzle flash of the Galil SAR? It was like a g***m lighthouse, a true RPG magnet...
I was in the Colombian Army when they replaced our G3 for this Galil and it was way better more light and precise specially in the jungle warfare that we where fighting against the communist guerrilla but the 7.62 ammo is heavy to carrier any way it performed very well
@@humbertoruiz116 I mean yeah it's better than a G3 for infantry forces, no duh. It's kinda of weird how long a lot of European Militaries decided to wait until replacing the G3/FAL
I carried one just like this during my IDF service - the sights weren't such a good idea since they tend to catch lint - other than that a formidable rifle.
How many children did you shot?
@@jonme225 zero, stop believing B.S
@@jonme225 lol how much shit did you ate from the media?
Just keep it out of your pockets to avoid the lint!
@Jon me "How can you shoot women or children?" "Easy! Ya just don't lead 'em so much! Ain't war hell?" -- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
"Stop yelling at the soldiers and just accept the inevitability" is about my experience I had in the IDF, so yeah I can completely believe that part.
@@michaelalexander3078 Imagine trying to start a political argument, on a video that has 0 politics.
@@michaelalexander3078 big oof... No one cares what you think. We came here for gun jesus.
@@WackyIraqi777 Gun Jesus is our savior
More info, please?
THE ORİGİNAL REASON FOR THE GALİL WAS THAT THEY NEEDED NEW STANDARD BOTTLE OPENERS
How did you make the letter i in your sentence both capitol and lowercase?
@@lumetheredpanda8959 İm a Turkish guy. İn Turkish we have both the letter "i" and "ı" thats why we have İ and I
@@bruensal7182 Ah, sorry then, I was just a bit thrown off by that. Thank you for explaining.
@@lumetheredpanda8959 no problem
This rifle hangs in my keychain because I sometimes need a bottle opener.
I remember my dad had one of these somewhere around 2000 when he was still in the IDF reserves. In my memories the Galil was as big as an FN MAG! :D
By my time we had the shortened M16A2, Tavor-21/X95 and M4, but the M16s and M-4s are slowly being phased out.
I loved my Galil AR in Estonian army. Every squad had also one ARM and two guys with SAR rifles (tank destroyer pair with B300-s)
Really? I used one in Basic in the IDF and then we switched to the M4. I hated the Galil I used.
I seem to recall reading somewhere (can't find the source now) that Shlomo Zabludowicz facilitated the sale of the RK62 technical package to Israel. He founded Soltam, an Israeli subsidiary of the Finnish artillery manufacturer Tampella in the 50's, so the arms industry connection between the countries was already well established when the Galil development was happening.
@Lassi Kinnunen "Shlomo Zabludowicz"
Lmao no way that's an actual name
@@wewlad8697 it is, and he used to be the richest Finnish citizen as well. :D
His son Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz is currently the richest Finnish-born Finnish citizen.
Galils are based heavily on the Finnish Valmet M-62 AR and Valmet/Sako export AR versions in .223/.308 LMG models. You can say they are close copies even. The Finnish M-92S and M-95 on the other hand borrowed some design features from the Galil models - You could say that the circle has become full :)
And the valmets are copies of Soviets AKs. Hey couldnt be more of a copy. What's your point?
@@Chiefshadow4 Well no. Finnish RK 62 was based on the AK-47, but if you for example compare the sights in RK 62 and AK-47 you do see one of the improvements the Finns made.
And the AKs are copies of the STG-44, so basically its a German design refined through different gunsmiths in multiple countries.
@@Reaperdude100 and panzer 3 is copy of Reno FT, they are both have turrets, guns and engines at the back
Excellent description,amusing when Ian declared he was not going too deeply into examining the gas system,then stripped the whole thing down! He's so devoted!
Fire a Galil and you'll appreciate the sight radius between front and rear sight which is something the AK-47 lacks . More accurate .
Being born well after WWII, I always referred to the AK sights as bb gun sights.
The AK is perfectly accurate within 400 meters. That's all you need.
Whilst in South Africa I was lucky enough to get in some trigger time with R4 in 5.56. Nice piece of kit.
Cool. You know Ian also made a video a few months ago which went into the differences between Galils and the South African R4 R5 R6 LM4 LM5 and LM6. Really interesting video which I have downloaded and watched about a dozen times now
Man! This version of the Galil is by far my favourite military rifle! The best mix between the AK and AR-15
Was issued the micro Galil for my service in the IDF. Loved it. Even adopted an AK47 forward hand grip instead of the plastic one and had a poly mag as well. Carried it on me 24/7, no hassle, even when seated, or driving.
Did you see active combat with it? If so how did it perform?
These guns are really cool and all, and I always wanted one, until I took one to the range for a day.
They're heavy, not as accurate as I expected, and have surprisingly heavy recoil in 5.56.
They're still cool and all, just can't justify a $4-5k pricetag personally.
@Gray Au honestly the only thing they have over the at platform is durability and reliability in field situations, but honestly after shooting one, would take a post 2008 WASR over an early Galil any day.
@Gray Au just saw this comment and I shit you not it's my favorite too! There are much 'cooler' guns around but those things are accurate, indestructible, surprisingly comfortable to shoot, and (though they're way more expensive now) cheap.
Still kick myself for selling my factory 26 years ago. Haven't had one since but always want to spend money I shouldn't when I see one for sale.
I'm not surprised about the accuracy, converting an AK to 5.56 isn't going to make it fire like an AR, and I have heard how heavy they are, but I'm surprised about the recoil - you'd think a heavy bodied 5.56 rifle would be super controllable. Kalashnikov pattern rifles do tend to eject their shells really aggressively, so maybe that was the issue. Still, if someone told me to jump in quicksand before a firefight, I'd take this over a FAL or M16. Haven't heard much about the reliability of Tavors, just that they're a bit pricey and have the usual bullpup problems.
The IDF issued ARM rifles had no carry handle. Also, many issued SAR rifles had ARM rear handguard retainers with the bipod hooks. This worked great for off-duty IDF to rubber band a magazine to the rifle for off-duty carry. An IDF requirement.
I absolutely love the Galil! It is hands down my second favorite rifle of all time, only being beaten out by the M1 Garanad.
Was the Garanad invented by some guy who was born in Canada but moved to the US and changed his name?
Someone NEEDS to manufacture a conversion kit with Galil furniture for the Steyr AUG, so you can have the most swiss army style rifle ever...
Steyr AUG is an Austrian Service Rifle not Swiss the Swiss have the SIG 550 or in Swiss Army called Assault Rifle 90 the Steyr AUG is called Assault Rifle 77 in Austrian Army
@@LIONTAMER3D No you are completle wrong the australian army uses the AUG aswell but it was Inventet in Austria in the late 1960s if you have never heard of austria its a country next to Germany and Switzerland they use this Rifle from 1977 on the Australian Defence Force got it 10 Years later as the F88 Rifle, do your own Research on Wikipedia
@@LIONTAMER3D You Are an Idiot what means AUG ? You know it ? I guess not AUG stands for Armee UniversalGewehr guess wich language that is ? Its german and it means Army Universal Rifle, german is the official language in Austria Idiot
@@LIONTAMER3D Austria uses the Rifle from 1978 on it was developed already in the late 1960s, Austrialia uses the Rifle till 1988, how can a Country that has not invented the weapon use it 10 years earlyier than the country that has invented it does that makes any sense to you ?
@@LIONTAMER3D Even the Name Steyr "Steyr AUG", Steyr is the name of the Company that first Produced the Rifle its named after the City Steyr in Austria in Australia there is no City called Steyr
Having been in the Estonian Defence Forces I loved this. The 35 round mag is great for extended firefights(we usually carried 6 mags each so 200+ rounds) and the weight was more than bearable. There was no contest between this and the AK-4(a swedish G3 copy) which had more weight, recoil and length but less ammo capacity.
One is an assault rifle firing an intermediate cartridge and the other is a battle rifle firing a full-powered rifle cartridge. Apples and oranges.
@@peabase Not apples and oranges, as these are the two standard rifles in the EDF at the moment. So the comparison is apt. Although now a M4 variant is being adopted.
@@erikmarkuskannike7526 My point is, they the differ in characteristics. You could make a case that pistols are superior to assault rifles because they're lighter, but that wouldn't be a fair comparison.
In the South African Army we used to carry 2 50rnd and 6 35rnd magazines when going on patrol.
I’m Guatemalan and whenever I go there to see my family you’ll see the Galil everywhere!! Great rifle, great video 👍🏽
As it is with many in my age, Counter Strike (particularly 1.6) brought me the sense of amusement about guns, their machinery, and their effectiveness. The fact that it was almost identical (in-game mechanics, visual, etc) to the AK-47 was not lost by much of the playerbase. Very nice explanation of the history, and it's relationship to that iconic rifle.
That wire cutter is probably the part I was most impressed by.
IDF did use the galil and his short version, the glilon. My father used them
They were still in use until the early-mid 2000s
"mishmar hayarden" is a place, not a name.. It translates to the Jordanian front guard, roughly, just FYI
It can also be a name. Most Hebrew names mean something. Most people's names until Greek times meant something literal. Moses means drawn from the water and Benjamin mean son of the south.
Most Israeli Chad thing I've ever heard *They would open beer bottles with Uzi mags so Galili just said fuck it and built in a bottle opener on the gun itself.*
@@LIONTAMER3D lol
Lowkey we still do it with m4 mags and tbh its funny we pretty much look for ways to open a bottle with an m4 there are quite alot of ways to do it
Not beer - soda pop - alcohol is a no no in the IDF.
@@MindRiot395th alcohol was fine in the idf until the Russian Jews came ,true story.
The amount of details and knowledge you have for each and every weapon you examine and the casualness with which you present it all is just mindboggling !! You're a living encyclopedia ... Wonder why you're not hired yet to build your own stuff ??
SIX DAYS OF FIRE
ONE DAY OF REST
Battle of Karameh says hi
First receivers were indeed made in Finland.
@Lassi Kinnunen first batch of final planned galil receivers were made in Finland, that was before they, (Israel) got tooling up.
And that tooling was a surpluss production line for RK-62s.
@Lassi Kinnunen Valmet chief designer Timo Hyytinen wrote in his book that they used to produce a batch of the receivers for Israel, but later the Israelis set up their own production lines, where Valmet provided assistance too.
Interestingly, the Swedish FFV 890C was joint offer of IMI and Valmet for FFV, as both IMI and Valmet manufactured parts for the 1000 or so prototype rifles.
Indian Special Forces uses the .308 version as a marksman rifle the only difference is the butt stock is fixed not adjustable
@St. Petersberg there very accurate rifles.
@@jackdoe7401 not that accurate the groupings at 600-700 yrds were 6-8 inchs apart
@@rajbiswas9077 so nearly one MOA? That's pretty good for a semi auto.
@@jackdoe7401 at that distance a sr25 fires with 2-4 inch groupings with same ammo
@@rajbiswas9077 there is no rifle shooting a .25 group. Show me that study please.
Love your channel and in-depth research but must note a small correction (I live in Israel and speak Hebrew, so it's easier for me to gather information)
Your pronunciation was just fine. But his name was never the Mishmar HaYarden. Mishmar HaYarden was a town where he was born. The meaning of the name is The jorden(river) Guard
An interesting story about this settlement is that in 1948, there were members of Hagana and Etzel members living there. When seven Arab armies attacked Israel, the Syrians attacked Mishmar HaYarden at a 20 to 1 ratio and with tanks that were not available to the settlement .
The Hagana demanded its people to extradite the Etzel fighters to Syrians and because they refused and stood shoulder to shoulder With their friends in arms, the Hagana did not send reinforcements and prevented the Etzel from sending reinforcements after a heroic battle some of the town men were taken prisoner and some were killed.
The Hagana took their houses and lend and gave them to those close to power.
Even after their release from captivity, the IDF (run by former Hagana ministers) refused to give the settlement fighters the signal of the War of Independence.
All this because they did not give their friends arms to the Syrians
Now, having seen one of these up close, I absolutely love the aesthetics of the hand guards.
Love, love, love, this weapon system. First came into contact with one in S. America and have been in love since. They are great jungle rifles. Function great in humidity and constant wet, hot, muddy of a jungle theater. And a lot more accurate than an AK. The absolute best of both the AR and AK families.
Can't wait for Ian to somehow get his hands onto AEK.
The aek looks like a gummy bear of an ak, still good tho
great info as always
When I was like 7, back in 85' I was already collecting Gun Digests and these were some of my most "When I grow up I'm getting these rifles", that I ever had. Somehow, they seem rare around here, and regardless of my military service and 6 years as a gun dealer, have never handled either of those two pristine examples.
Ian: "The FAL was big and heavy and didn't work that well"
Rhodesians: "am I a joke to you?"
Yes.
"We gave our troops weight saving equipment"
"Lighter weapons?"
"No, we gave them shorts."
It worked better inna jungle than desert
Well, the environment was completely different and Rhodesian FALs had modifications
Dad was a Selous Scout and used the FAL for its stopping power. He always had an AK in the field. Strapped to his back. Used it a ton.
I bought one exactly like that right when the importation ban went into effect in 1989. I sold it a few years later, and now I'm kicking myself for doing it.
Gun Jesus showing us an assault rifle from Holy Land. This must be a sign!!!!
it's blessed!
"assault bottle opener" there, fixed it for ya.
@Mauri Mela ...that has already happened. Next is His second coming.
It's ok it's circumcised
Greetings from israel! Love your channel
Just a small correction:
He was born as israel balashnikov, in israel to a jewish russian family (thus the name). Later he changed it to galili (before he worked on this riffle).
He lived in mishmar hanegev for a while but it wasent his name (its a kibbutz).
I first saw this gun in call of duty black ops zombies. The way it looks really caught my eye .
was it in multiplayer?
I swear every time warzone adds a guns UA-cam recommends me a video from forgotten weapons
I had a Galil for most of my IDF service. They were never issued with the carrying handle, and we would remove the tripod to conserve weight. The Galilon was a shorter version that was issued to the armored corps.
Eran what weapon in 2023 would be your preference?
@@vitocarbonara7770 Definitely the Tavor assault rifle. The Galil Ace is also a fantasic assault rifle, however not issued to the IDF. Tavor seems a better fit with Israel's combat doctrine
Ian, I think you've made a few mistakes about Yisrael Galili:
Yisrael Galili (Balashnikov) was born in would-be Israel (British Mandatory Palestine) in 1923, in a *place* called Mishmar HaYarden (lit. "Guard/Outpost of the Jordan [river]"), which is located in the region of the Galilee. It would make sense that he would rename himself after the region he grew up in (Galili/Galilee), it would not make sense that *his own* name was Mishmar HaYarden.
Changing his name to Balachnikov would not have made sense - it's even less Hebrew sounding.
Edit to clarify:
"Galili" in Hebrew means "Of the Galil"/"Belongs to the Galil", and Galil in turn - in English is translated as "Galilee" (e.g Sea of Galilee). Which makes this slightly confusing.
Edit 2:
Additionally, these weren't directly replaced by the Tavor. The last Galils in service were in use by the Armoured Corps in the Glilon variant (shortened Galil) up until ~2004, due to their small size when the stock is collapsed. The Armoured Corps are not supposed to get the Tavor anytime soon to replace their M4s.
I googled "Mishmar HaYarden" and i was confused to see, that there is a place in Israel with the same name. Clearly it was not his name. Balashnikov, on the over hand is russian name.
Yisrael Galili is also buried in Mishmar HaYarden.
I'm pretty sure that it's not the same guy.
Most likely he was born as Balashnikov to family of Russian emigres and then changed his name
Small error:
Mishmar Ha'yarden (meaning: the Jordan guard) is a name of a place in Israel, it was not Galili's russian name.
Ian pretty much mixed up all the names and the history - Israel Galili's birth name was Balashnikov, he later changed it to he wasn't born in Russia, but in Mandatory Palestine, Mishmar Ha'yarden is a village in the Upper Galilee, it could be a place where he was born or lived, but i couldn't verify this...
@@Zannooda You are confusing Yisrael Galili (born Yisrael Berchenko ) the Israeli politician born 1911 in Ukraine and died died 8 February 1986, with Yisrael Galili (born Yisrael Balashnikov) the weapons designer, who was in fact born in Israel ("Mandatory Palestine") in 1923 and died March 9, 1995. I didn't listen very closely to Ian in this video, so I would assume that it's possible he made the same mistake.
And actually, Galili was a very common name for migrant families to change to, no matter where you came from. My mother's maiden name was Galili, and unlike the two Yisrael Galilis, her family came from Iraq.
that bottle opener bit is amazing
Greetings from Israel,
Mishmar HaYarden is actually a name of an Israely village, and not Galili's birth name, which was Yisrael Balashnikov.
Also, he was born in Israel and not Russia, but that obviously was before the establishment of the state of Israel
Israel army :''Hey Galili we need a gun and bottle opener together in one piece''
Galili : ''HOLD MY BEER !!!''
He later opened that beer with the galil
who the heck needs an bottle opener anyway? its possible to open a bottle with an blanket
@@ksenomorf170 that was years before the twist off bottle caps were made.
S W you learn something new everyday
@@ksenomorf170
> its possible to open a bottle with an blanket
Okay, I never tried blankets, but I know that e.g. most gas lighters, a sheet of paper folded in the right way, the edges of tables (or almost any surface with a sharp enough edge), many field or other knifes (as well as other cutlery such as spoons, forks etc.), different tools such as e.g. pliers (or basically any tool with a sharp edge) or just a second bottle held upside down also do the job well (and technically, one could also use their teeth, but that's just very stupid).
So, about using a blanket: care to elaborate how that's done? :-)
“We really really need a bottle opener and wire cutter for the field.....what can you do for us Mr. G.?” “Well guys...”
"Half-life has gone."
Yeah... yeah... it sure has... ._.
If it was painted with RADIUM, maybe NOT completely....
RocKITEman _ 2001 I think he’s talking about the Half Life game
it will come back one day
@@Yanuu are people just pretending that there wasn't a half life game last march
My father was a fan of the Galil or FAL. He was 82’nd AA during the late 50’s to early 60’s. Had a friend who was in the 6 day war. Israel took what they knew worked and ran with it with this rifle with the caliber they wanted.
Great clip. I enjoyed it very much. It brought me back to my miltary service days when I had a Galil rifle (late 80's - early 90's). Later when I became an Officer I had the Glilon (in Hebrew it means "Little Galil") ehich is practically the same rifle only with a short barrel and weighs 0.8 Kg less. Great rifle for it's time.
One small error. The inventor you mentioned is indeed Israel Galili (Galili = from the Galilee region) born Israel Balishnikov. What you mention as his name Mishmar Hayarden is not a person's name but the name of a Kibbutz not far from the sea of Galillee. Great Clip. I loved it.
I had one in 1980 at the beginning of my military service. later on that year in "makim" course when I received an RPG, my Galil was exchanged for a Glilon. I was still a private and there were still officers who hadn't yet received the Glilon. Boy was I proud.
Don’t mind me, I’ll take this video as my early 23rd birthday gift. Thanks Ian!
Yiggie
Love your collection I'm still trying to find some myself but with no luck
I can see that they took many things to galil from finnish RK-rifle. At least the front sight, mag release and gas tube release.
There was always something that I always liked about the Galil and the FN-FAL. Never got the pleasure of firing either, but there was something that always caught my eye about them.
Love listening the masses of information. Thank you.
Yes, finally. I am an absolute sucker for Galil rifles. I am ecstatic to see one on here.