Oxford Mail readers have been discussing helicopters flying over Oxfordshire.

They gave their views after three helicopters were spotted flying together over Oxford and other parts of the county on Thursday afternoon.

One of the three helicopters appeared to be an RAF Chinook.

RAF Benson near Wallingford is home to two front-line Puma HC2 helicopter squadrons and one Operational Conversion Unit, flying a mix of Puma HC2 and Chinook HC4 helicopters.

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The RAF base is also home to the civilian National Police Air Service and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance which operate 24 hours a day.

KEVIN PETTET: “Chinooks fly over Abingdon regularly - I love the noise they make.”

CHRIS GREEN: “They do it most days if you bother looking up occasionally.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “There were actually three helicopters flying around.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “Correct. Over Wallingford, about 3.30pm.”

CHIAM FOSTER: “Training exercise?”

MATT CROXFORD: “They fly over south Oxfordshire most days.”

DAVID CAMERON-YOUNG: “Some sort of flying exercise.”

PHIL DIGGINS: “RAF helicopters based in Oxfordshire are seen flying over Oxfordshire.”

PAUL CLARKE: “This is the second week this has happened.”

ADAM HEPPELL: “I witnessed 3 C130s flying low over my house today. I live near Brize Norton, panic over!”

LEE MANFREDI: “We saw this activity.”

MAZO MAISEY: “One flies most days at 4pm.”

LINDA HATWELL: “They would have been doing training sorties - they have been doing this for years.”

VICTOR ABBOTT: “Getting pilots used to formation flying over populated areas where colliding carries real risk by taking the green route through cities.

“Well that’s my best guess after seeing them fly over Florence Park the other day.”

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STEVE EVANS: “Where was the headline when an Apache flew over Oxford the other day or when four Merlins flew over Headington last week?

“There is an RAF helicopter base at Benson and we have the largest transport base at Brize Norton.”

CRAIG HAWKINS: “Staying in Crowmarsh,Wallingford you will notice they practise every day without fail.”

NATE JENNINGS: “Lucky to live right next to the base, they have also been in and out of Chalgrove airfield.”

PENNY LING: RAF Benson - they are up and down the Vale of the White Horse every Tuesday. All around Steventon. All the time.”

ALICE STYLES: “I heard that - it was really low - also there was a helicopter out the night before.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “It was probably because the people of Wantage wanted some peace and quiet for a day.

“You would think they are knitting something when you look at their flight paths over the area!”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “The Chinook is so distinctive in our area where they regularly train between Benson and Brize!”

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OXFORD MAIL READER: “I must see Chinooks two or three times a day in twos or threes plus air ambulance and police and a few private ones too - just part of life round here.

“You also get a Solo Aerobatic Display regularly too.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “It was the Hercules’ day off?”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “There were three helicopters, one was a Chinook, over central Oxford and they were very low, (for Central Oxford) never seen that before in 80 odd years.

“They did three circuits with the Chinook trailing the other two.

“Clearly it was some training exercise or it could have been a smoke and mirrors operation to draw our attention while something else was going on.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “I saw a Chinook flying too.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “Various military aircraft are often passing Oxford and the surrounding areas.

“Some are passing carrying cargo, others are usual trainee parachute exercises especially over Boars Hill. If you ever learned anything about the Second World War, you should now, this is why Oxford was never bombed by the Germans, because of it’s heritage which is what Hitler wanted. We still even in this existing day have air bases surrounding the Oxfordshire area and beyond.”