It was all eyes to the skies as a pair of Chinooks flew high over Greater Manchester. The military aircraft - flying in tandem - were spotted by dozens of people out enjoying the sun in Salford, Trafford and Wythenshawe on Thursday.
The distinctive, twin-rotor RAF helicopters are used for heavy-lifting, troop transportation and visiting dignitaries by the UK armed forces.
Photographer Callum Harrison snapped this stunning photograph as the Chinooks whirled high over Wythenshawe town centre. They are most easily recognised by the distinctive 'wocka wocka' sound the 60ft-rotor blades make whilst chopping through air.
According to reports, the Chinooks also landed at City Airport in Barton. Chinook helicopters have been used by the UK armed forces since the 1980s and were first used in combat during the Falklands War from 1982.
They are usually based at RAF Odiham, in Hampshire, and have more recently been used to support troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other reports on social media revealed sightings of the Chinooks near to Manchester Airport, posting images online as they flew overhead.
They are believed to have stopped to refuel.
An RAF spokesman said: "The RAF, and in this case, Chinook helicopters from RAF Odiham in Oxfordshire, use a variety of flying areas around the whole of the UK and vary their routes often. Sometimes this is on the guidance of Air Traffic, other times to maximise training benefit, and other times it will be to transport defence personnel to certain locations.
"Recently our aircraft have been operating in the Bristol, Birmingham and Coventry areas as well as, on this occasion, the Manchester region.
"We can confirm RAF rotary assets complete routine operational training over wide areas of the UK for extended periods of time. Our routine training is broad in location and nature and rarely specific to any region, likewise, our exercises are not specific to any region or location."
"The Chinook is an extremely capable and highly versatile support helicopter that can be operated from land bases or ships into a diverse range of environments, from the Artic to the desert or jungle."
One alone can carry up to 55 troops or up around 10 tonnes of cargo.
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