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 Indomitable (92) aggression in the Far East. However, given that the aircraft carrier was in the vicinity of Jamaica, on 3 November 1941, it seems unlikely that "Indomitable" could really have reached Singapore in sufficient time to provide air cover for the battle fleet. For that to have been achieved, it would have been necessary to order the ship to proceed to Singapore at a date earlier than 3 November. In the event, the other two capital ships, designated Force Z, did not have adequate air cover, and were sunk by Japanese aircraft when the Japanese landed in Malaya in December 1941.