USS Bonita (SP-540)

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

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

USS Bonita (SP-540) ca. June 1917.
History
United States
Name	USS Bonita
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Holmes Motor Company, Mystic, Connecticut
Acquired	17 May 1917
Commissioned	1917
Stricken	18 December 1918
Fate	Sunk in collision 26 November 1918
Notes	Operated as private pleasure craft Bonita until 1917
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Length	46 ft (14 m)
Beam	10 ft (3.0 m)
Draft	3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) forward
Speed	12 miles per hour[1]
Complement	4
Armament	1 × 1-pounder gun 1 × machine gun

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.