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) of Admiral Sir James Somerville. "Indomitable", and her sister ship were the only modern aircraft carriers of the Fleet, and were a vital asset to the Allies in the Far East; the only other carrier, , was obsolete. In April 1942 Somerville attempted to intercept the Japanese carrier strike force as they raided the Indian Ocean. Incomplete intelligence led him to abandon his ambush just hours before the Japanese force arrived. Over the next few days "Indomitable" was part of a force that attempted to intercept the Japanese fleet at night, where the slow but radar equipped, British torpedo planes