On April 13, 1941, "Tarigo", along with the destroyers "Lampo" and "Baleno", sailed from Naples to escort a Tripoli-bound convoy composed of the steamers "Arta", "Adana", "Aegina", "Iserlohn" and "Sabaudia" (all German, except for the latter) with troops and supplies for the Afrika Korps. De Cristofaro was the escort leader. In the early hours of April 16, off the Kerkennah, the convoy was attacked by four British destroyers, led by Captain Philip Mack. "Lampo" and "Baleno", taken by surprise, were disabled before they could mount an effective reaction; "Tarigo", left alone, confronted the British ships and tried in vain to defend the merchant ships, but was in turn wrecked by enemy fire, which also amputated one of De Cristofaro's legs. Although already in a sinking condition, "Tarigo" managed to score two torpedo hits on the British destroyer "Mohawk", sinking her. Shortly thereafter, "Tarigo" went down with most of the crew, including De Cristofaro. He was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.