USS Bonita (SP-540)

The second USS Bonita (SP-540) was a United States Navy patrol vessel commissioned in 1917 and sunk in 1918.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Bonita.

USS Bonita (SP-540) ca. June 1917.
History
United States
NameUSS Bonita
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderHolmes Motor Company, Mystic, Connecticut
Acquired17 May 1917
Commissioned1917
Stricken18 December 1918
FateSunk in collision 26 November 1918
NotesOperated as private pleasure craft Bonita until 1917
General characteristics
TypePatrol vessel
Length46 ft (14 m)
Beam10 ft (3.0 m)
Draft3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) forward
Speed12 miles per hour[1]
Complement4
Armament

Bonita was built as a private pleasure craft by the Holmes Motor Company at Mystic, Connecticut. On 17 May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, Mr. Robert Windsor of Boston, Massachusetts, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Bonita (SP-540) soon thereafter.

Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Bonita operated on patrol duties in Boston Harbor for the rest of World War I.

Before dawn on 26 November 1918, Bonita collided with the fishing schooner Russell and sank. Repeated efforts to locate Bonita's wreck proved unsuccessful, and she was stricken from the Navy List on 18 December 1918.

Notes
  1. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b8/bonita-ii.htm gives Bonita's speed as 12 miles per hour, implying statute miles per hour, an unusual unit of measure for the speed of a watercraft. It is possible that her speed actually was 12 knots. If 12 statute miles per hour is accurate, the equivalent in knots is 10.4.

References
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