Proper mixing of fuel, primary and secondary air is a major issue to optimize engine performance in terms of efficiency and pollutant emissions. The underlying turbulent flow field determines these mixing processes. Most experimental and numerical investigations are performed in single nozzle combustors for reasons of optical accessibility and simplicity. The focus of the present study is to compare the variation of the non-reacting turbulent flow field for the case of single-nozzle and three-nozzle operation. In addition, the influence of secondary air entrainment is investigated. The flow configuration is based on commercial geometries. Using a two component laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) the mean and fluctuating velocities of all three components, as well as two Reynolds-stress components were measured. The autocorrelation function and spectral distributions of the fluctuating velocity signal clearly revealed coherent fluid motions. These observations, together with high speed-flow visualisations indicate a precessing vortex core (PVC). An additional lower frequency for all three nozzles in operation revealed a pulsation of the recirculation zones. A major result of this investigation is that the size and shape of the internal recirculation zones were significantly influenced by operation of adjacent nozzles. Furthermore the generation of PVCs were augmented in the three-nozzle configuration. The additional secondary air entrainment interacts with the primary flow, changing the size and shape of the recirculation zone and affecting the low frequency pulsation.