The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 3rd Class

The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 3rd class was commissioned on 10th October 1943.

The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 3rd class was awarded to lower officers and those of rank (including partisan units) who showed bravery and intelligent decision making that resulted in the victory of a battle.

In total five thousand seven hundred and thirty eight 3rd class orders were awarded.

The third class order has the star formation of the 2nd and 1st class orders but the stars points are smaller and have a more rounded point. The central plate is silver and also larger than that of the higher 2nd and 1st class orders.

Type 1 – Variation one – Rare and difficult to find. This type is made from a three piece construction with a soldered screw back and seam around the central plate.

Type 2 – Variation one – Scarce, almost rare so not easily available. Same in design to type one but with a two piece construction rather than three. The central plate has a more flush appearance with the star formation of the order.

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The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd Class

The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd class was commissioned on 10th October 1943.

Unlike the 1st class Order, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd class was awarded to divisional, brigade or battalion commander who managed to make a grand breach or successful raid of enemy lines.

In total two thousand three hundred and thirty nine 2nd class orders were awarded.

The second class order is silver with a gold central plate depicting Bogdan Khmelnitsky.
Type 1 – Variation one – Very rare and normally the demand is a lot higher than availability, also very expensive. Has a screw back with no rivets.

Type 1 – Variation two – Very rare and normally the demand is a lot higher than availability, also very expensive. Has a screw back with two rivets spaced 18mm apart either side of the central screw.

Type 1 – Variation three – Rare and difficult to find. Has a screw back with three, one above and one either side of the screw back.

Type 1 – Variation four – Rare and difficult to find. Has a screw back with two rivets spaced 16mm apart either side of the central screw.

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka

The Junkers Ju 87 is better know as the Stuka dive bomber, this name is derived from the word Sturzkampfflugzeug which literally translates as dive bomber.

The Junkers Ju 87, Stuka, was a two seater aircraft that was used for ground attacks and entered service with the Luftwaffe in during the Spanish Civil War of 1936.

It is believed that in total six thousand five hundred Stuka dive bombers were built during World War Two, primarily serving the German Luftwaffe but also serving in the Royal Romanian Air Force and the Bulgarian Air Force.

The Stuka was designed by Hermann Pohlmann and was built by the Junkers company based in Dessau, Germany. Junkers was originally a boiler and radiator company started by Hugo Junkers but moved to building planes after the First World War.

During the Second World War the Stuka dive bomber became vulnerable to the precision and speed of more modern fighter planes such as the Hurricane and Spitfire in the Battle of Britain. This did not stop the Stuka becoming legendary for its success at bombing targets and becoming a scary sight to people on the ground.


Both military personnel and civillians became very aware of the Stuka dive bomber and feared it when ever they saw or heard it flying near. When diving the Stuka had a Jericho trumpet which sounded like a wailing siren warning people of its impending attack. The Stuka also had a very distinct look with its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage.

There were a few types of Stukas built during World War Two, these were

Junkers Ju 87A
Junkers Ju 87B
Junkers Ju 87C
Junkers Ju 87D
Junkers Ju 87G

The most famous Stuka dive bomber pilot was Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Fuhrerbunker

The Fuhrerbunker is best known as the place where Adolf Hitler committed suicude with his wife Eva Hitler (Eva Anna Paula Braun) at the end of World War Two. Eva killed herself through taking a capsule of cyanide and Hitler shot himself in the mouth while biting into a cyanide capsule.

The Fuhrerbunker, translating as "The Fuhrers Shelter" is a complex of underground bunkers built in Berlin, Germany under the gardens of the old Reich Chancellery building at Wilhelmstraße 77.

The bunker had 30 small rooms in total built in two levels, the first of which was built in 1936 and the second completed in 1943.

The Fuhrerbunker was protected by concrete walls that were around four metres thick so they could withstand a strong barrage and also had exits into the Chancellery and an emergency exit into the Chancellery gardens.

After the war the Soviet Union tried to blow up the Fuhrerbunker but only managed to damage the seperation walls. The East German government tried to blow up the bunker in 1959 but again did not cause much affect.


Images attributed to Das Bundesarchiv