Billy Budd (opera) the conflict between good and evil, he is tormented by guilt over the case of Billy Budd on board his ship, HMS "Indomitable", some years earlier. The crew of the Indomitable works on deck. For slipping and bumping into an officer, the Novice is sentenced to be flogged. At the same time a cutter approaches, returning from a merchant ship where it has pressed three sailors into the Royal Navy. One of these sailors, Billy Budd, seems overjoyed with his situation – entirely different from the other two who are not so happy. Claggart, the Master-at-Arms, calls him "a find
HMS Surprise (1796) of the book. HMS Surprise (1796) HMS "Surprise" was the name the Royal Navy gave to the French Navy's corvette "Unité" after her capture in 1796. Launched on 16 February 1794, the ship gained fame in 1799 for the recapture of , and in 1802 was sold out of the service. Historical fiction author Patrick O'Brian set many of his Aubrey–Maturin series aboard HMS "Surprise", including the 2003 . Pierre-Alexandre Forfait designed "Unité", the name ship for a class of corvette. Although the French initially rated "Unité" as a corvette, the ships of her class bridged a gap between smaller