I went through the both official (USAAF, USNAF) stats and they give quite low figures on aircraft losses in air combats in Pacific theater and during the time period of 1941-1942, which is of my interest:
USAAF losses in air combat during Jun.-Dec. 1942 in total just 7
USNAF losses in air combat during 1941 - 1942 in total 257
The very low USAAF loss figure is a bit susceptible to me - I have read that the losses of USAAF P-39/(P-400) and P-40 units were higher in air combats than a modest total of 7 during 1942. For example in just one single combat Guadalcanal-based USAAF P-39 unit lost 4 planes, which would make more than half of USAAF losses at whole Pacific theater in Jun.-Dec. 1942. Are all unit records really taken in account in these stats?
...just checked this from another forum. It appears that USAAF stats given in link above are incomplete transcription. Here is more complete and reliable stuff:
http://www.afhra.af.mil/timelines/index.asp - there one should download the PDF for Part II to get better info. Although some stats in the internet have officially approved status and thus appear reliable, it does not mean that they are always complete and tell the whole truth.