On 10 January 1941, during Operation Excess, the Italian torpedo boats "Circe" and "Vega" attempted an attack on the Allied convoy off Pantellaria. Right after the engagement, in which "Vega" was sunk, "Gallant" struck a mine that detonated her forward magazine, because the Italian action pushed the British convoy too much south of their pre-established route. The explosion blew the bow off the ship, killing 65 and injuring 15 more of her crew. Her sister "Griffin" rescued most of the survivors and the destroyer towed her stern-first to Malta. The ship was slowly repaired and in October 1941 it was estimated that they would be completed in June 1942. However, on 5 April 1942, she was extensively damaged by bomb splinters by an air raid on Valletta and had to be beached at Pinto's Wharf to prevent her from sinking. She was judged to be a constructive total loss and any usable equipment was stripped from her hulk. "Gallant" was expended as a blockship at St Paul's Island in September 1943, with the wreck being broken up in 1953.