PBS' 'Great Escape at Dunkirk' Aims to Explode Myths About the RAF's Role in the Evacuation

One year ago, lots of people didn't know the story of Britain's mass evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940. Then came "Dunkirk" and "Darkest Hour," two hugely successful movies that both earned Best Picture Oscar nominations.

Now the PBS series NOVA is getting in on the action with "Great Escape at Dunkirk," premiering tonight at 9pm ET on most PBS stations.

The program gets into the scurrilous rumor that the Royal Air Force failed to protect the stranded soldiers from relentless bombing by the Luftwaffe. With an excavation of a newly-found Sptifire wreck, NOVA debunks that myth, highlighting the role that the RAF’s iconic fighter plane played in reversing the odds by fighting in the air above the beleaguered men.

The program features historian Joshua Levine, who advised Christopher Nolan on "Dunkirk" and spoke to us about the movie last summer.

We've got a preview of tonight's episode. Check it out below.