Flying Ace crashes in Friendly Acres
World War II came to a sudden and vivid reality for residents of Friendly Acres in Redwood City late one Monday afternoon in 1943 when a fighter plane made a spectacular crash landing into the neighborhood.
It was April 12th and a young 25 year old army flier from Callendar, Iowa, 2nd Lt. Lowell K. Brueland, had been on a practice flight on a single-seat fighter plane over the bay. Heading west over the San Mateo Bridge from
Hayward AFB, his plane suffered engine trouble and he was forced to quickly find somewhere where he could make an emergency landing. Running out of possibilities he stayed close to the shoreline of the bay aiming for some sort of belly landing, and managed to get himself to Sanders' field (
aka Sweeny Ranch airport) just south of Redwood City, which had in earlier days been a private airport. (Today the Ampex land just north of 2nd Ave. and south of Chestnut in Redwood City).
To his credit, the pilot maneuvered the plane with such skill that no damage was made to any house or car although he skimmed them by inches. Not only did Brueland survive to tell the tale, but he we went on to become one of WWII's Flying Aces and the legendary Pioneer Mustang flyer of "Grim Reaper" fame.
