[1] Benedetto Cairoli entered service in time to take part in the final year of World War I.

She was assigned to the 4th Destroyer Squadron at Brindisi, Italy,[2] and served in the Adriatic campaign.

On the night of 9–10 April 1918 Benedetto Cairoli was part of a force of several Italian and French Navy destroyers escorting the three battleships of the Italian 2nd Naval Division from Brindisi to Taranto, Italy.

[2][3][4] About an hour later, after the ships entered the Ionian Sea, Benedetto Cairoli′s sister ship Giacinto Carini accidentally rammed her, and Benedetto Cairoli sank a few hours later off Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy.

Meanwhile, Giacinto Carini reached port with a severely damaged bow and remained under repair for the rest of World War I.