South African Galils: The R4, R5, R6, and LM Series
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2018
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When South Africa decided to replace the R1 rifle (a metric FAL), they chose to adopt the Israeli Galil. Both nations had similar environmental issues with blowing sand (in northwestern South Africa particularly), and Israel was one of the few nations willing to trade arms with South Africa in the 1970s. The Galil ARM was adopted as the R4 rifle, with the initial batch of guns purchased directly from IMI, and a licensing agreement put in place to follow those up with domestic South African production.
These would be followed later by the R5 carbine, and the abortive attempt at the R6 carbine. In addition, semiautomatic copies of these rifles were also available on the civilian market at the LM-4, LM-5, and LM-6. Today we will look at the differences between the South African and Israeli guns, the changes made through production, and the variation in the different types. Everything you wanted to know about the South African Galils!
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I have a problem with the old apartheid flag in the beginning of your video it represents a time of great oppresiveness againts people of colour in South Africa,please remove it
I always use the flag from the time and place where a gun originated - so I use the old flag for pre-1994 guns and the current one for post-94 designs. In many cases (Italy, Spain, Germany, South Africa, etc) it means using a flag that does not reflect the current government, and I'm sorry that you find it uncomfortable.
Eh you’ll get over it
Really Tau?!? It's a part of history and I'm actually quite offended by your blatant disregard for it.
Um it's just a flag.
Your problem is seemingly bigger than you think. Good luck with that
I lived there for a few years, our teachers at boarding school pulled a few of those R4s out to protect the school at night during the Soweto Anniversary riots. Nice to find out a bit more about them.
The Mighty Jingles Awesome to find you here. I remember you talking about your boarding school experience and the burning fields outside in an old mingles. Cool that the teachers were packing but understandable given the tense situation.
Hooray! Good to see TMJ follows this channel too. He must've managed to escape the Salt Mines again!
Wish my teachers were proactive like that, glad you survived those riots man.
God I wish you went back to War Thunder. Miss your mustang arcade videos
Whoa, the actual Jingles? Cool.
Points of observation:
1. When I served in 6SAI during the late 80s, the riflemen could, and did, ask to have their stocks changed from long to short. The armourers did this with no questions asked.
2. The 'night' sights contained beta lights, it wasn't just a crude notch sight. Looking through the flipped-up sights offered a sight picture of three dots of light. Line them up with the middle one on the target, and fire away! The official nomenclature was "low-light sights": the term "night sights" were reserved for electronic light-amplification devices, of which there were two designs.
3. The 50-round magazine is not really useful in the machine-gun role, because there is not enough clearance under the rifle on its bipod. In fact, there's hardly space for a 35-round magazine.
4. The bipod is superbly useful for keeping the rifle out of the dirt.
5. I've also been issued a FAL/R1. As a fighting weapon I prefer the R4 by far.
R1 was swaar boet, veral met die ammo, 7 mags,
I were in the Army in the early 80's and we just called them night sights. However, your term of low light sights are more accurate.
Fully agree..I was also issued both...but I loved the punch and accuracy of the R1. Used it on Bisley shoots in Bloem and was continually impressed.
@Uncle Pete Bisley was usually limited to 300m as I remember (open iron sights) standing at 100..kneeling at 200 and prone at 300. Then of course a combination of the three, running from 300 to 100 ...but we sometimes shot out to 500m. Loved the rifle. Genl de Wet skietbaan
Memories I was july 80 intake 6 SAI. 3200 of us with space for 1000. Middel of winter (saw my 1st frozen ice bucket) no hot water yes had a cold shower once 02h00. Inspection in a tent with bare earth floor was a nightmare. Remember route to the shooting range and the smell of the bushes having had to Slaan Dekking a million times😂
I worked for Armscor but was stationed at LEW for a few years. There is one major change we made that is missing. We found, during testing that we would get “runaways” (uncontrolled full auto firing). The Israeli manufacturers denied knowledge of this problem but on a visit to Israel, their military confirmed our findings. After filming with high speed cameras, we found the firing pin resonated thus causing the runaways. We machined the firing pin with three fluted grooves (making them lighter) which prevented the runaways. I met mr Galil on one of his visits to LEW. Only noticed later that you addressed the firing pin. I was given other projects prior to the last firing pin mods.
From the Horse's mouth. Pay attention folks.
A rubber buffer involved there perhaps?
No buffer when I was there.
awesome job.
R4 is SHIT is it's way too bulky and long
I did my south african national service from 1980 to 1982 and we were one of the first units to be issued the R4/galil. We were issued a brand new, wooden stock, small sight version (Galil). It was an amazing rifle that was as tough as nails. I probably shot a few thousand bullets with my rifle, not one misfire.
We had great confidence in it.
As a South African, I highly appreciate your trip to RSA to create content on South African firearms and firearms history. Admittedly, I know less about my country's firearm history than I do others, therefore having a channel that I enjoy watching cover this topic is absolutely great. Keep it up, Ian.
Thanks! I have a bunch more SA videos coming, including some neat commercial failures from Musgrave. :)
@RBG Philosophy loop naai, doesn't matter who, what or where he came from. It's part of our history.
@@marcellehermanson969 Se vir die poes haha
@@ForgottenWeapons You should do one about the Denel NTW-20, if I could choose anything Denel made it would be one of those, and only because i have no place to park a G6 Rhino at home.
@RBG Philosophy my family has been in South Affica for a lot longer than 99% of Bantus my bru, bugger off
Awesome review! Thanks mate. I am a boertjie (Afrikaans speaking South African) that served in the South African Airforce from 1989 to 1994. We were issued with the R5 and I fondly remember the late nights speed practicing taking it apart and putting it back together! A small technical point - Lyttelton Enigeering was in Pretoria and not Johannesburg. More correctly it was in Centurion (became part of Pretoria City council in the early 2000s - Pretoria City Council is now known as Tshawane Metropolitan Municipality) - interestingly, Centurion was also previously known as Verwoerdburg City - named after Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd and from Wikipedia; "The first South African-produced [R1] rifle, serial numbered 200001, was presented to the then Prime Minister, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, by Armscor"...
Did you fly any mirages/ cheetahs?
Good to see the R4 again. I did my military service in South Africa. Got to know the R4 pretty well and earned a golden shootist medallion. Had to clean the rifle at least 3 times a week. Could eventually take it apart and reassembled blindfolded. Very good rifle.
I got silver. You must be a good shot to get gold.
40 years later, and i bet i could still strip it and reassemble in the dark. Lovely weapon.
Man 🤯🤯 the research done by this guy on the weapons is amazing, didn't know I'd enjoy learning about guns this much. Keep doing what your doing, Much love from South Africa 🇿🇦
As a Former soldier in the SADF in 4 Artillery Regiment my rifle was the R4. Thank you for this video.
That’s awesome dude! What artillery gun did you shoot if you did shoot at all?
Ian.....thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you from an old, worn out SADF soldier. Finally, someone shows our rifles in detail. 👍👍👍👍👍 A point of interest - none of the guys in my battalion used slings, because a slung weapon was considered to be a useless weapon. We had to carry it in our hands always.
I was in Commando and was still issued an FAL in the early-mid '80s. No slings and the SADF cut the carrying handles off of the FALs for the same reason: On patrol, we had to carry it ready to fire (which was actually a good idea).
@@thomastoups3451 I can only guess you guys never had to take prisoners (bind and search) or trained to transition to pistol? What did you do with your rifles then?
@@gheezer44, Several things: I was only on one op where we took prisoners. It was not a problem, as the entire section was involved. The men actually physically handling the prisoners just put their rifle down or set them on an APC while the rest of the section covered the prisoners. In no unit that I served with did riflemen or even NCOs use or carry pistols. They were only carried by officers and the smarter officers (IMHO) often also carried a rifle on patrol. I never used a pistol or received any pistol training with the SADF. I worked private security as a civilian and did a lot of pistol use and training in that capacity.
@@thomastoups3451 Thank you. Very interesting perspective...two very different doctrines.
@MATHA NOSHTO-MAN Sir, if your comment was directed at me, I was an American volunteer in the SADF who was (and still is) vehemently anti-communist! I'm sure I can speak for all SADF vets in thanking you for your kind words.
I was issued one of the first Israeli-manufactured Galils for use with my SADF unit in Namibia and Angola in late 1980. (He refers to the first batch at 2:50 - that were straight from Israel.) As a unit, we tested them under actual fighting conditions.
It still had the wooden handguard, and the carrying handle which we did not really use. I just found some old photos with all these features clearly visible.
I thought it was a major improvement over the FAL 7.62mm 'R1' which we used before, for the reasons that are mentioned early in the video. Above all, it was extremely reliable. I cannot recall a single instance of a stoppage. The R1s were not that good in the dusty and sandy conditions, the R4s were superb. The R1s were long and unwieldy in vehicles, and the R4 very compact. And you could carry more rounds, 35 per magazine...excellent assault rifle.
I saw a few of the wooden handle weapons in SWA, but didn't know then they were original Israeli.
I served in the SANDF in 1990/91.
My rifle was the R4.
A fabulous rifle. I was in the engineer corps.
I could drag it through the mud, run through a shower cloths and all with my rifle. Iron my uniform dry and have a pristine R4 back in perfect working condition in 60 mins. Crazy🙂. Fond memories, great men.
Fun fact, my father was contracted by Lyttelton Engineering to devise a process of corrosion protection during the manufacture of the polymer and steel magazines. Glad to see almost all are still around 49 years later.
I was never issues a polymer version. Neither was anyone in the engineer corps in my time.
Tha parabats (we named them "vliesbom", which translates as "meat bomb" were the envy of most other troops as the short, foldable stock made the weapon easy to carry.
Your detail was very well researched. Bravo.
Kind regards
Mark
Johannesburg
South Africa
Genie, 1980 intake. 👍🍻🇿🇦
Never walked patrol with Fifty round, too heavy, strapped it flat across top of chest webbing. Bush combat is close quarter, intuitive fire, therefore open sight.
I had seen them used in vehicles just for a response to an ambush, but when vehicle stopped and troops dismounted all changed to the 35rnd mags.
Same here boet, never bothered with the 50 round mag
Cody Sonnet What country are you from?
Koevoet loved the 50 rd mag on their R5, used from the firing ports of the Casspir.
Only ever saw them being used for trench clearing. Two 50 round mags taped back to back and full auto.
"More importantly, this functions as a bottle opener."
Priorities in the right place.
Welcome to SA buddy XD
Maak oop daardie bier!
All it needs to be a perfect weapons is some braai tongs! Or maybe the bipod legs double as those....
@@douglasherron7534 Lmao, I'd laugh if some boet used them as braai tongs
Now we need..hmm...folding spatula stock which doubles as a odd multitool shovel
I used the R1 and R4 when doing military service in South Africa. R1 was a great gun for long distances and R4 was perfect for close quarter/bush scenarios
The greatest advantage was carrying a lot more ammo. Even minor scermishes always left platoons out of ammo. Interesting to me was the R1 balistics was in theory less prone to deflection when shooting through a bush and the R4 could penetrate the amour of a Buffel not the R1.
Shot gold with R1 and squat with R4.🙈
I used the R1 during my service never experienced any problems love it was issued a R4 in my last camp had jams and also discharged without trigger activation did not like it at all@@DavidBrown-wh1ix
The thing about the r1 was it would literally blow a hole through the person you shot. My dads friend was a RECCE and he told me that when he shot someone, the guy stood up, picked up his ak and fired at him again, the r4 wouldn’t go through the person and most times kill people
Just FYI. We never, ever fired using the bipod as support. It was only ever used when placing your weapon on the ground to keep it out of the dust.
Was it because the grass was too tall?
@@hschan5976 No, it was because it was not designed for a prone firing support. And at that time, the SADF was very disciplined and if you were told not to do something, you listened. And you may be right, the Bush War was fought in Savannah, so to have a bipod swinging below your rifle while doing fire and movement in-between bushes would be more of a hindrance than any firing aid.
Every section, platoon and company would arrange their rifles, supported by these bipods, just above the ground in very orderly fashion when going to canteen or church. It kept things organised and clean.
"More importantly, this functions as a bottle opener"
NeoAcario, yes. In South Africa, that is more important. And every cop I know also opens bottles with their baretta by locking the slide back and using the gap between the slide and the barrel....
It honestly is a super important feature. Otherwise you get soldiers fucking up their mag lips to pop off caps.
NeoAcario that bottle opening feature was also present on the R1/FAL Bayonet
You can do the same with a 7.62mm AK mag and the barrel / op rod of a makarov PM.
Most Seth Efricans enjoy a beer or two at the end of the day.
As a South African I'm very impressed by this guy's history. He's spot on about everything 👌🏻
Good day Sir. I served on a South African Air Force Base. The security personnel did mount the red dot scope on their R5's.
Forgotten History for sure. You’ve done a lot of homework into our rifle my friend, right down to knowing what an effy is. 🤣Well done thanks for that. Angolan veterans 87/88
Saluut!
Any link with 32 battalion
Did my 2 years in 1986 -1987. We are not short guys lol ! I am 6 ft and the shortest in my family on both sides. It brings back many memories seeing this video. I still shoot with the Army once a year and I get goosebumps holding the R4. I am also a dedicated handgun shooter/reloader as well. You make awesome videos keep up the good work.
Did service 84 to 86. How does one get to do a shoot with the army?
In our family, the shortie was 6'6", the lofty one 6'11".. Yeah, no midget bar fights.
My father is of Dutch decent as well father is 6'¹¹ my mom's 5'⁹ together they created me a 7'⁴ fella
SADF, 2 Special Services Batallion from 1989 to 1990. We were issued the R5. Real blast from the past. Very informative video, almost 29 years later I'm only now getting a real understanding of this weapon and feel a bit of nostalgia. We were taught maybe 3% of what you've covered. Thanks for the trip down memory lane
I was an Ops Medic in the SADF early 90's. We used the R5 which i absolutely loved. Came across this vid and must say, lots of nostalgia.
I remember my mother worked at LEW. She was part of the team working in the production of this R4.
30 minutes wasn’t enough for me
Saw Galil in the title and I knew I would find you here somewhere😂
Not winning an M249 wasn't enough for me
Tell ICS to make one for us!
USAirsoft I'm sure you had to change your pants after getting the notification 😂
Evan Lisinski honestly I'd rather see a valmet first this is pretty close to the galil so you can pretty easily just pretend 😂
Awesome. The R4 I had, during 1988~89 when I was in the SADF, had a 6 digit serial number (I still remember it). It had no prefix or suffix. We also had the wide straps and only 1x 50 round mag.
Did you use the M83 chest rig or battle jacket? Any preference between the two?
We had the chest rig which I prefer, the battle jacket was a bit bulky.
The chest webbing was meant to be used under the big back pack we used during patrols. The pack was dumped on contact leaving only the mags and whatever you had on your web belt. The battle jacket was better for day-patrol stuff but couldn't really be used under the big pack.
SA Marine Corp in 88 , section leader doing patrols in buffel armoured vehicle with my trusty R4
This to all Boets who served,Thank you for your service
ja and for nothing.
Brilliant video. Loved the background on these guns. My dad was part of the border wars and used the R1. Told us many stories of limitations of the gun, terrain issues and such as well as bayonet skirmishes.
I did my training a few years after ‘94 and we used the R4. Durable, accurate and all round versatile weapon. Just a useless tidbit, we folded the stock not by hand but by a quick and brutal flick to the upper arm which presented enough of a bolt to release the clasp and fold the stock. Much quicker and flashy!🤣
A complete side note, Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe.
Thanks for this video! Amazing info.
You should make a video on South African artillery. It's pretty unique.
Socomnick is there some link to a guyCanadian who designed it? I vaguely remember some guy jailed in the west arms embargo crap when I was a kid in 80s
Could you elaborate on how it's unique, for someone that knows little about artillery?
A genius named Gerald Bull helped design them, the end result is artillery systems that often far out range most artillery systems and are more accurate.
Firing mortars using their feet as base plates lol
The GC-45 howitzers and its shells can shoot more accurately and farther than the Soviet artillery that Angola used in the bush wars. It uses base bleed tech that removes the vacuum behind flying shells that allows them to go farther like how the dimples on a golf ball reduces the vacuum behind the ball while in flight.
Proud to have used all 3 models during operations in later Angola and South Africa. Reliability at its best!⚔️
Hi Ian. Great content - love the channel. Carried an R4 in Angola and SWA - great rifle. Regards to my brothers from 85 - 87.
As a South African who's dad was actually on the border... I appreciate this.
Same here
Same joh
Same dude
Who cares?
Cheers my maat, selfde hier
I'm from South Africa, and I really learned a lot from this video. Thank you for all the time and effort! Best channel on RUclips!
Thanks for the video. Brought back good memories of my Army days. I we trained with the R4, and was issued a R1 when I joined the commando system. I personally prefer the R1 to the R4.
A lot of older guys who got to use both share the sentiment. To them the extra weight did not matter much.
Heck, I remember reading that some of you saffas even referred to the R4s as "tinny" compared to the R1.
Boet, the weight difference wasn't that much - in fact according to Wiki the R1 may be lighter - FAL being between 8.5 to 9.5 pounds - R4 being 9.5 about.
Think the big weight difference comes in at number of rounds carried of 7.62NATO vs 5.56NATO
Anyway I think the major reason for change was the overall length and size since there was a clear plan in late 70's and 80's moving away from the older infantry model of long foot patrols and ambushes to combined arms doctrine of heavy artillery (G5) clearing lol my dad made this comment lols
I used the R4 during my National Service (and R5 as a police reservist) but later we were issued a FN FAL (yup, not an R1!) to keep at home for Commandos. When we had to give it back we had 20 rounds of ammo left so I took the rifle to our local range, put ten rounds through the end of a barrel about 100m away, and then stood, put it on auto and walked the last 10 rounds somewhat towards the target. Good time, and what a rifle.
I really appreciated this as an old SADF army armourer from '83 to '92 and I obtained a bit of new info. I also worked in and later ran the national firearm proof house from '92 until its demise in 2015. All firearms produced in South Africa for the civilian market had to be proofed. Military (including police) and black powder weapons were excluded. I note that both the R4 and R5 you display carry these proof marks (Springbuck horns with a T in the centre) which was only applied to the LMs. This proof mark was applied to the receiver, barrel and breech on these arms, but at some stage (can't remember when) stamping the breech was dropped due to the hardness of the breech severely shortening the life of proof punches. In light of this I am a bit mystified why they are there. Possible explanations can be that these were originally LMs whose guts were modified to military spec, or that these might have belonged to a private collector in SA. The police on very rare occasions required that military arms be proofed in order for them to be licenced for private collections, but I can count it on one hand.
One correction on your video, Lyttelton Engineering Works were in Centurion, Pretoria, and not Johannesburg.
Last thing, nothing personal. I notice you slightly lean into the weapon when firing, so I would like to suggest you try the following to prove the extremely little to no recoil of this rifle. Attach a full 35 round magazine, put it on full automatic, fold the stock forward and hold the rifle straight in front of you with one hand like a pistol... and empty the magazine.
Did you know my Dad by any chance? Johnno Johnson, WO1 South African Navy. Was an armorer and did a lot rifle shooting and coaching...
Having been married to an R4 for 2 years of my life, I found nothing said that sounded incorrect. In fact I learned a lot.
And I must commend the production quality and thorough research. Thank you.
I am from South Africa! You know your history of SA and the guns very well!
Met n naam soos dit, sou ek nooit ge weet het nie lol
@@alfraser9083 someone translate this
@@funnyyylock no. You should learn it.
@@funnyyylock "With a name like this, I would never have known, lag hardop." (according to Google; scnr for that last part)
@@TruthNerds 100%, lol or laugh out loud is directly translated to 'lag hardop'
Excellent very well researched. I was an ops (operational) medic in the SADF in the late 80s and we were issued and used the R5, the boys loved them. PS on a side note Lyttelton Engineering Works is in Pretoria not Johannesburg.
Yes I was also in SAMS, we used both the R1 (FN-FAL copy) and the R5, they began phasing the R1 out of use in the late 80s.
I rocked the R4.
7SAI Phalaborwa 1990.
17 years old, conscripted into the national service.
Pow, pow!
conscripted :) I was a couple of years behind you, in '92. 5 SAI in Ladysmith.
I remember those R4 barrels glowing red and setting the webbing slings on fire in training when simulating an ambush. I can't remember the exact number, but it was something like 12 magazines being emptied into the kill zone directly after each other in full auto.
Yes I also melted one during section leader training it was fuvar and not even mine as I was on mag that day
Great review. As a South African I grew up shooting the R1 (7.62mm) and R4 which were only available to the Army and Police. The R4 was a lot of fun firing on auto (not so much the R1, kicked like a mule). I learnt a lot from this video, well covered and fascinating.
Hoe mooi het daai R5 Afrikaans gepraat.
Ja neh, dis net so mooi as jy skiet op rowers met die R5 en hulle hardloop rond soos hoenders. My pa werk vir die polisie en hy se die geweer wat hy die meeste na verlang is die R1, daai was n meneer gewees in Apartheid.
'A' vir Afrikaans.
Heerlik ja.
Nou word julle uitgerooi hoe lekker
Afrikaans is grappig om te lezen. Het ziet er anders uit maar je snap het nog steeds wat daar staat als je het leest.
I worked at Lyttelton Engineering Works it was situated in Pretoria not Johannesburg and Manufactured the R5 They where manufactured on Hermly Pegboard Milling Machines in 1982 and 1983 the tolerances where very close. A Good place to have worked in.
South African here. I'm particularly impressed that you went as deep as talking about the primary users of the R4. Most white people were of Dutch decent including me. We stand well above average where I am 185cm and 90% of my friends are 180cm+. I am happy that you were able to go that amount of detail. My father made use of a R1 (FAL) and the R4 (and a R5 once) during his mandatory service.
I was in the Navy in 1983. We were restricted to use the old Belgian FN rifles with wooden stock. Quite a recoil. Got a blue eye first time on the range. Previous military intake pranked me adjusting the gas intake to maximum!
Thank you for a very interesting and well researched feature. I was issued a R4 for my 2 year stint in 80/81 & we were very fond of the rifle. A most enjoyable trip down memory lane, thanks again.
In 1985 a couple of really short guys in the unit got those short stocks. And during training a stock was broken off when it would not fold and got kicked to detach that taper lock. This was a common way to get them to fold. Loved shooting the R4, hit what it was pointed at, never jammed , and, yes, this was conscription service just like you guys had in Nam, and no, we didn’t want to be there either.
Still here? Lol.. I came BACK after pausing the video and looking up and reading articles about the current South African Army.... Your videos inspire more "extra" learning than you might have thought.
Cool vid.
I carried this rifle during my time in Mech infantry. We were told not to load the 35 round mag to 35 ,but 30 as the extra 5 caused feed issues. Of course we ignored this and guess what, I got feed stoppages! We were also issued 2 50 rounders. They were useful for the corporal in charge of the lmg group in the section. If the lmg group had a belt/barrel change or stoppage, he could take up the suppressive fire slack with a 50 rounder. They were also used in laying ambushes as your 1st line mag to achieve the volume of fire needed when you engage contact in an ambush.
I was told that the R-6 was produced for a Reconnaissance Regiment requirement, but they might have just ended up with some.
A little know version of the R-4 was the heavy barrel SAW model called R-7 . It had a much heavier and longer barrel , but was never adopted. The only pick I've ever seen was in a soldier of fortune mag article on the R-4. As far as I know, this wasn't a Israeli development, as the pick showed a SA produced gun.
Here's a link: photobucket.com/gallery/user/richardtl/media/cGF0aDpBaXJzb2Z0L1NBREYgQXJ0aWNsZXMvUjRBcnRpY2xlM19uX3pwc2M3M2E3NDcxLmpwZw==/?ref=
I was in Mot. infantry and in all the postings I only ever got 1 50-round mag. I never thought much of them 'cause I can't recall a mis feed on the 35 rounders, but not uncommon with the 50. Another issue with it is that you couldn't put the rifle down on the bi-pod/stock 'cause the mag was too long. Ian says the the 50 round mag was to be used first but for those of us who walked instead of drove the length was an issue. I remember taping 3 mags together (1 up, two down) instead.
Corroborates what I've been told. The man knows his stuff.
South Africa had many development projects with Israel. Besides rifles we also developed our nukes with them, we got our orbital trajectory ballistic missiles from them, and a few other things along the way too.
What a time it was...))
some say, even on nukes.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Incident
+zoperxplex we didn't build nukes because we were "besieged"... the US helped us covertly. At the time we were actively fighting a war against communists. We fought against Cuban infantry and Soviet commanded T55s. So we got assistance in building what could be considered gravity dropped tactical nukes. Thankfully we were able to deal with the Soviets and they did not escalate. The Ruskies did steal the turret of the only tank we lost for study... but I guess that is fair considering we seized a shipment of T55s that "accidentally" docked in one of our navy harbours :-)
Thankfully that particular conflicted ended in peace that resulted in Namibia gaining its independence from us. That is a good thing, we should have either annexed & incorporated Namibia or we should have released it rather than occupying it.
+zoperxplex & +Atreid3s The border war included the USSR and Cuba as combatants. While Cuba wasn't a great threat the USSR certainly was, especially considering that they were deploying their tanks into Angola. Now what was the primary intended target for US tactical nukes during the time... was it maybe Russian tank formations...?
Had a Galil SAR (Short barrel version) for 3 years of my IDF service. Loved it !. We swapped the plastic grips for wood and later for AK grips. Also used the short 10 round mag as a quick response mag which was always attached to the grips. Nice review. One day will get me a vintage Galil.
As a South African n appreciate this video, i learned quite a lot from it. Great to see fellow South Africans in the comments
I loved my R5 in the SAAF. What a great rifle! I'm of English descent and am 6'2'' tall, I was almost the shortest person in my flight during Basics.
What was your job in the SAAF?
I never really found out :-) In theory I was an Engineering Officer but mostly drove a desk running computer networks.
I was Air Defence Artillery Group in the SAAF. Spent some time in Ondangwa on the Hilda Missile unit. We used the R5 as our backup weapon. It was great compact, easy to use and accurate.
I found the stock length way to long.
I enjoyed the R5. Also SAAF. Basic at the gym, then did a stint in Hoedspruit. Good times.
What an episode! Thanks for everything you do for us Ian!
With my engineering background, I really enjoyed this thorough analysis of the R4/R5/R6 rifles. Personally, I never got an attachment to the R4, and hardly shot one, but that is because I was so used to using my R1 in shooting competitions out to 500m. I felt that the R4 was not precise enough. When I was conscripted into the Commandos in 1969, I was issued with a 0.303 Lee Enfield, and then only changed to an R1 when I was sent to the border in 1977.
Thanks for this - the most informative, comprehensive and enjoyable video on these weapons that I've ever seen. Squadron 5 flight 13 in the SAAF during basics and went on to serve for a year in SWA. I carried my R5 with sling exactly, as you illustrated here, for two years during '88 and '90. Bosbefok for a few months after my service but I wouldn't change these two years for anything. This Vid brought back many memories so thanks for that.
Fantastic video, great mix of interesting history and evolution, and using the weapon.
I worked with a South African guy afew years ago here in Australia who served in the African army and raved about these rifles.
Love you're video. I used the R4 in Angola while serving in South African defense force in the 80's
Yall didn't do too well with the Angolans and their Cuban allies, they chased your butts all the way back across the South African border.
@@davidruffner7371 Angolans were not an issue, Cubans were much better trained. But as to who came out with the upper hand in that war depends on who you believe.
@@davidruffner7371 from where are you? we lost the war but never lost any battles do yourself a favor and read up on our battles before talking crap. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operations_of_the_South_African_Border_War
@@craigweideman6194 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mebos please read and then you can decide these are factual ..our unit lost 12 paras on the day
@@davidruffner7371 Politics chased us back across the border, not the Cubans or Agolans/FAPLA/SWAPO.
Thanks Ian! I really learned a lot from this clip. Your dedication in making these informative videos keep us tuned in till the very end and is always much appreciated. You are always welcome in South Africa 🙂 Would love to shoot and chat with you someday.
And its got a beer opener :D
As an ex-Israeli military, used the Galil in Lebanon for about 4 years.
Designing the cocking lever facing up is way more efficient than the AK. In combat situations, it allows you to operate it without taking your hand of the pistol grip, regardless if you are a left or right handed. Also, it allows you to clear minor jams or stuck cartridges without taking your finger of the trigger.
Also, that is why the safety, unlike the AK, is also on the pistol grip, which combined with the upright cocking handle, allows the users to keep their hand on the grip, finger on the trigger, take it of safety, put a round in the chamber, and start firing - All at the same time, within half of a second.
This has been one of my favorite episodes.....thank you. I have always loved the south African galil rifles....I agree the 13 inch w/coupled mag and wide sling is the most handy/coolest. I have a Saiga 223/556 AK 101 style convert that I did in a 13.7 and I love it---but it is no Galil. It's a shame we can't find them more in the states , I wish someone reputable would take on the project. Better yet---if IWI would just do like a "retro" thing sort of like Brownell's has lately it would be a HUGE seller. They would be sold out within hours I bet.....I would buy 2 myself.
thanks Ian , a great video to re-watch, not many gun enthusiasts in south africa get to see all the variants together like this.
Thanks, I used the R4 myself in 1983/4. didn't know all the detail. Great work
Great video, very well researched my friend. I served 2 years compulsory conscription 1978 to '80 where I spent a little more than a year in the "operational area" and Angola. I initially was issued with the FAL (originally FN made under license), designated R1 and reissued a R4. Carry handles were sawed off immediately. My personal experience with the R1/FAL is that it was a great rifle but prone to jamming if not meticulously cleaned - unlike the AK. African dust and general conditions are very hard on equipment. As you correctly pointed out, the R4 was far more reliable and I guess the 5.56 better suited for the type of engagements we were having with FAPLA/Cuban troops. In favour of the R1, nothing but absolutely NOTHING compares to a 7.62mm. On the R4 and AK47, the firing hand has to engage the safety mechanism to fire mode thus taking your hand off the grip and trigger which is not ideal. The R1 safety can be engaged to fire with a thumb action without removing your hand and finger from the firing position. Best.
To deal with the sand and dust issue in my R1 while on the border, I used oil very, very sparingly and rubbed #2 pencil graphite over all the moving parts I could access. Graphite is a good dry lubricant and it worked for me. Needless to say, I also took great pains to keep my R1 as clean as possible.
So can the R4 buddy, it has both left hand and right hand safety's. Right hand by thumb pushing down, left hand right under the thumb. Cocking motion should be done when you leave the base and change mags during a fire fight and were easily accomplished by left hand, thumb up position, as were showed by Ian, by even a right handed person. The R4 was a lot lighter and the considerably more deadly than anything else "Krygkor" developed with a lot less kick. You could still use your shoulder after running 190 rounds through the barrel. Something you could not really do after running a 100 rounds through a R1... I know, we did some additional training with it...
Intake 159 in Rhodesia. The first thing on receiving new R1s was to cut the carry handles and sling swivels off. Then, file down the baobab front sight to where it wouldn’t completely cover a man sized target at 200 m. Then, so long as Sgt Major LABUSCAGNE didn’t catch you, use grinding paste on the rails because they came too tight.
Here in South Africa the Police still use them Today! Thanks for the Great Video Appreciate it as a South African 🇿🇦
Surprised that they havent all been stolen yet.
They use the R5 in SAPS
Used a R5 and was operational with red dot scope. I know you said we didn’t- would just like to set that record straight. Great report and very informative.
I was at 8SAI in 1991. Upington. This has brought back memories! That was my 'wife'! Great video review and great rifle......Thank you Ian!
I have a friend who has a Galil, but since he lives in Cali, it stays with his friend in another state. That's no way to maintain a meaningful relationship with a girl.
Very informative and a trip down memory lane. Thanks for this great video.
Did SA infantry basics with R1 - FN copy - and then we got brand new Galils with wooden hand grips but called them R4s. Have a photo of myself in Angola with 2x50 mags taped top/bottom = 90 rounds on the rifle plus 6×35 mags in the webbing as first line ammo.
Ian, thank you for another incredible video. You never fail us! You are a scholar and a gentleman.
As a South African,I`ve learnt a lot.I must say I enjoyed using the FAL/R1,though.
thumb up
@ Rupert McNaught Davis Hey Rupie! Fancy finding you here in a world of 7bil ppl. What's the odds on that?
AR-1 is best weapon.
AK74,,,R-4 ,R-5 R-6 these are kak.
what did you use it for?
@Be Frank you missed a few they are still running around 😭
As a Rifleman, I found using the R4 in Short Burst, were useful, but the Bi-Pod gave it a lot of kick and using it as a support full Auto weapon, it was only useful for suppression fire and not much more. It created so much dust that after the 3rd round you could no longer see where you were shooting. That s also the only the rounds that would hit a target and the rest would be all over the show. I primarily shot single shots or double tapped the trigger, which was very effective in even long range combat where the 2nd shot would most likely be a head shot. The design of the ammunition was of such though, that even a usually non fatal hit would be fatal. ANY Body shot (and of course Head shot) were fatal. We were very well trained in its use and could hit body shots 9/10 times at ranges of 300m or further with open sights. (We never did use scopes) Also bearing in mind that a Human target, at 300m would be 1/3 the thickness of your front site, even though it was very thin, as you mentioned. (Possibly about 2 mm thick at the top) I NEVER had a jam in the 2 years I used it. The 50 round magazine was not issued to us as an equestrian brigade, as standard, but I were able to procure 1 later on from a infantry unit, which I found, had less spring left towards the last rounds. I compensated by stretching my spring when I cleaned the magazine. We never had any problems with the 35 round magazines. We had to clean them regularly though, as sand got into everything...
i served in the army in RSA for 3 years using the R1 and then the R4 .. you have done your research well.... as one who was conscripted there. Boy the reminder of having to clean these toys after rolling around in the mud all day. we used to play with the gas guage on the R1 and give our friends a nice bruise on their shoulder if they didnt check it
Had to empty half my brain but atleast now im an expert on the south african galils and a dedicated viewer
It’s funny, while you were doing that, the guys from GI Joburg, a channel I watch with my kids, were on a trip from Cape Town to Chattanooga TN.
This is great content. As usual, you made me want one. I also started craving biltong while watching this. Keep up the awesome content!
I'd happily send you some (I make my own) but US customs, meh. Tried to send some to a school buddy of mine in Billings and customs sent it straight back, uneaten. Probably thought it was some type of bio weapon or something.
I was in the SADF in the 80's, but lived in Southwest Africa for a numbers of years in high school. We went for "Cadet camps" with the Southwest African defence force (was actually stil part of South Africa that time) We were "trained" to "operate" the R1, G3 (R2), AK47, 9mm parabellum. How do you like that... being trained while stil at school. 🤨
During 2 year national service issued with R4 - brand new, wow!! We were very proud. The R1 will always be closer to my heart, had to take care of that weapon much more carefully and keep it clean and lubricated. The farmers in Southwest Africa were issued the G3 (R2) for personal protection, but with selection for single shot or rapid fire only and not automatic. Loved that weapon and carried it for personal protection (prevention is better than cure) while hunting hunting Kudu, Bosvark on a Wild Game farm..... off course.... many moons ago in the early 1980's.......those were the days......2 year national service in the SADF after finishing high school. They say that the "Angolan Bush war" was for nothing..... today you can clearly see......if it wasn't for that there would have been nothing for the ANC government to corrupt and destroy, but that is a story for another place and another time.....
Like the US 🇺🇸... land of the free, home of the brave..... now being destroyed and tarnished by Biden, their own society from within.... what the previous generations fought for....now almost lost.... That is what happens when you turn your back on Our Allmight God, our Father in heaven... God will protect his rightious people.... who believe in His Son Lord Jesus Christ... In a twinkling of an eye we will ascend up into the sky to receive our heavenly bodies and be one with our spirit.... then the 7 year tribulation will start.... and then... the wrath of the Lamb of God... Blessed is the Name of our Lord our God, Blessed is His Holy Name 🙏 🙌 ❤️ 🌹
Excellent Post , Riaan !
I served in the 8th South African infantry from 1980 until 1982. I did my training in Upington. We were the first intake to be issued the Galil with the wooden stock. We were initially issued with the R1 or fal. The Galil proved to be very accurate up to 300 meters. It never failed me and I carried it on patrol for over a year. I never carried the 50 round mag. Rather carried extra 35 round. A couple of our platoons were involved in fierce firefights with enemy troops and were not let down by this weapon. My only criticism about the Galil is That is is not as robust as the R1. We had cases where the Galil barrel was bent went the rifle was accidently dropped other external components were also easily damaged. Your video is very informative and brings back memories.
I was issued with a wooden handgripped R4/Galil in 1980 when we went up to the operational area. It was an awesome weapon and I recall we had firing pin changes done to them in 1981. Ours still had the carrying handles too and the 50 round mag was issued to us for use inside our APC's firing through the weapon ports (which were really built for the R1 (FAL) ) and not as a general use magazine. I enjoyed the rifle, it was reliable and you could take them into the shower with you after a day rolling through the mud.
I enjoyed the video. As a national serviceman and later as a Citizen Force (commando) member in the SADF I was issued an R4. I loved the rifle! I also had a lot of trigger time with the R5 and LM6. In my opinion the LM6 was unnecessarily short. The R/LM5 is better than the R/LM4 if a full infantry rifle isn't needed for obvious reasons. Owning any of the variants (even the semi only ones) in your video as a civilian in South Africa is extremely difficult. I was on duty as a CF commando company commander on election day in 1994. We had our issue full auto R4's with us that day. No single shot conversion were done to our weapons.
typowe ak-47 jest jak TIR na szosie
As a Namibian, growing up on a farm close to the Angolan border after the war, I had experienced shooting with the LM5 on many occasions. Heard stories about the R1 and R4. I really enjoyed this video
Love history and love your channel! Saffer here. Matriculated in 90 and then off to varsity. Military service was over by the time I graduated. Great post!
I love you are your videos Ian thanks for taking so much time to go over everything with us.
Fantastic video Ian. I found the small changes or improvements the South African military made to be very interesting.
What a great and well researched vid. Thank you for this. Did my national service in 1993, first in the infantry where we were issued the R4 then went on to become an ops medic were they issued us with the R5. Not sure exactly why the medics had the R5, but I imagine like you said, we were in and out of armoured vehicles and even civilian style ambulances , who knows? Keep up the great content.
Great program. Love your forgotten weapons posts and always look forward to watching each one. Being a South African, what a privilege to have you cover a part of our history. Thank you.
I did my basic training with the r4 and moved to armour and was issued with a r5. 1988 to 1990
Did you guys ever attach anything to these, like flashlights or even optics? Or was it all stock?
@@jhunscrown all stock standard
Mechanised Infantry here, we were taught the "double tap" and were discouraged to use the full auto. Probably because they went back to using the spring or they were happy to go back to using the spring because full auto fire was not a big thing with this rifle in the SADF
In 1979 - 1980 the original R4's were modified by shortening the firing pin tip protrusion, the rubber bushing was installed on the firing pins and the carry handles were removed. The R4 manuals refer to a firing pin spring, but this the rubber bushing as a coil spring was never used in the R4. IMI developed a firing pin coil spring for 5.56 Galil in 1984, but one was already being used in the 7.62x51 Galil since 1982. The rubber bushing in the R4 caused problems from oil and heat. It was later done away with and replaced with a firing pin that had a square shape on the rear hammer end and no spring or bushing. The LM series always got the rubber firing pin bushing and was never updated. The reason for South Africa to remove the carry handles was different from the reason Rhodesia removed their FAL carry handles. Rhodesia did remove the FAL carry handles to promote carrying the rifles at the ready. South Africa started removing carry handles from the R1 FAL after a soldier lost an eye while target shooting when an ejected cartridge case bounced off a carry handle in the up position. The early R4's kept carry handles until the 1979-1980 modifications. South Africa also increased reduced the sensitivity of their 5.56 cartridge primers. Due to embargoes and sanctions, not many countries would sell arms to South Africa. One country that was willing was Austria. South Africa briefly tested the Steyr AUG, but rejected it right away due unreliable firing of South Africa's 5.56 primers. The AUG's plastic hammer was suspected causing the problem, but no solution was sought. I don't know firing pin protrusion specs for the original Galil, but the later 5.56 R4's and IMI Tavor rifles have firing pin protrusion similar to Colt M16's. The reason started buying rifles from South Africa is because the funds for defense from the US couldn't be used to further Israel's weapons industry, but they could use the money to buy weapons from other countries, such as South Africa.
I watched the whole video lol. Thanks was really interesting & brought back fuzzy memories of my national service conscription back in 1991 just before conscription ended. We were issued the R5 and it was a pleasure to carry around and to shoot.
Rk 95 + a bottle opener = this
yea isn't the Galil based on the RK62 rifle? This was not discussed at all. Just raises the question, which one is the best, RK, Galil, or the R4? :)
After a long firefight it's Miller Time!
Coincidentally Miller Beer is now owned by a South African Company.
The bottle opener feature was a carry over from the Galil, not one of the changes the R4 rifle had.
Nought bru. Choose the Champion Taste. Choose Carling Black Label (drinking a bottle now).
The bottle opening function is cool, but contrary to popular belief, the wire cutter/bipod mount is NOT the bottle opener! The bipod retaining hooks that hold the bipod in the folded position (seen at 7:16) is! There are many videos of people trying (and failing) to open bottles with the wire cutter, but it's really easy with the retaining hooks...
I was in the South African military from 92 to 96, SAMS, South African Medical Services, we were issued the R5 as well. Lots of shooting, great weapon.
thank you for the trip down memory lane! I did my 2 years military service in the SAAF 1988-1989. Three months basic training in "deurgangskamp" Pretoria, three months specialized second phase training at Hoedspruit, 6 months border duty at AFB Mpacha in the Caprivi and the last 12 months at AFB Louis Trichard. I was what was fondly called a "roomys polisieman" referring to Regimental Police, not to be confused with SAAFPOL! My insignia is still in a cupboard drawer somewhere 😀
Being an RP we had the privilege of training on and shooting most all of the weapons the SANDF had to offer. Small arms, machine guns, grenade launchers, RPG, Snotneus, LMG (MAG gunners they were called) to name but a few and yes the R5. Quite a formidable weapon!
Two things I fondly remember about the R5 is that the easiest way to close the stock was to grab it by the pistol and front grip and give the stock a good old bash against your right shoulder, making it snap shut with considerable force! You just had to make sure no corporal or PTI saw you doing this 😂
I also remember the R5 becoming quite heavy when carried in the hand and running with full kit during training, 5 km, 10km, etc we had no straps, so we would disassemble it while running and stuff the internals in whatever holes we could find 😅 only to reassemble when getting close to the target 😄 effectively thus only running with the skeleton in hand 😂
I really enjoyed this video. This gentleman has more knowledge than the guys in my own country. Brilliant show of passion to Express actual knowledge of firearms in development. Absolutely excellent.
When I joined the S.A. Police in the 1980's we were trained with the old heavy FN R1 which was later replaced by a more modernized version. It was a weapon that grew on me and certainly one that I would pick for combat due to it's incredible impact, range and accuracy. (And because we both have gray hair).
Thank you. Brings back memories.
I was in the SADF from 85 to 86 used the R4 and R5. Training was tough, times were rough, but God is good, kept me safe from harm...
Correction @ 3:05
Lyttleton Engineering Works (now Denel) is not in Johannesburg but in Selborne Ave. Lyttelton, PRETORIA.
I used to work at LIW