When Nazi Germany attacked Norway on 9 April 1940, with only a small number of modern aircraft on order from US manufacturers taken on charge, the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) was unable to mount a sustained defense. Following the defeat of the Norwegian forces, the King, key members of the government and military left Norway in June 1940 aboard the HMS Devonshire.

After arriving in England, the Norwegian government-in-exile began the process of setting up a new base of operations. A decision was swiftly made to keep the existing Norwegian pilots that had escaped to England, as an independent unit, consequently, none were allowed to participate in the Battle of Britain. Arrangements were made to transfer Norwegian pilots to a North American headquarters while various locations were considered, a base around the Toronto Island Airport in Canada was chosen. Once the base was established, young Norwegians migrated to the site to enroll in the RNAF in Canada.

The greatest need revolved around the requirement for more combat pilots, necessitating placing orders in summer 1940 for 36 Fairchild PT-19s as a basic training aircraft. The first of the order began to arrive on 23 November 1940, being ferried in by American pilots. The initial batch of 10 PT-19s were supplemented by 26 PT-19As with a more powerful Ranger engine fitted. All of the series were retro-fitted in 1941 with canopies, converting the trainers into a PT-26 standard. Other operational aircraft, 24 Northrop N-3PBs and 35 Curtiss Hawk 75-A8s already on order (only 5 of the original order of 19 P-36s were undelivered, and were sent to Canada along with a further order for 36 new aircraft were utilized as advanced trainers. Air defence forces were divided between Army and Naval Air Corps, with both services retaining their own commanding officers. The "Little Norway" camp was officially opened on 10 November 1940, located in the bay area of Toronto, on the shores of Lake Ontario. Its first commander was Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen. Major Ole Reistad took over early 1941.

The earliest considerations for Norwegian pilots was to have a separate air force operating out of England, but by late 1940, the Norwegian government-in-exile mandated that all the "Little Norway" student pilots were ultimately destined for Norwegian-staffed RAF squadrons.Although basic training took place in "Little Norway", by 1941, students selected as fighter pilots began to receive advance training at the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on the NA Harvard. In 1943, the 30 surviving A-8 fighter trainers were sold back to the United states as P-36Gs. Initially, 36 Douglas DB-8A-5/A-33s (company numbers 715/750) on order from the United States were turned over in late 1940 for use as an advanced trainer. A decision to standardize on British types that would be used in operations led to arrangements being made later in 1941 for the flight training of Norwegian pilots to be carried out in RAF and RCAF schools. Consequently, the Model 8A-5s were declared surplus to Norwegian requirements and disposed of in sales abroad.

With the Norwegian Navy and Army pilot training operating as individual courses, there were inevitable commonalities and for the benefit of efficiency, the Norwegian government-in-exile consolidated both services into a unified force, renamed as the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The official declaration was made on 11 November 1944, although combined training operations were already taking place. In May 1942 the training camp was moved to a 430 acre site in Muskoka, about 70 miles north of Toronto. Under the auspices of a Lend-Lease agreement, an additional order of 50 Fairchild PT-26/PT-26B Cornells was placed with the first deliveries being received by 1942. The training continued at Muskoka until February 1945, when the camp was moved to the air base at Winkleigh in Devon, England.

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