South Pacific Air War Volume 1 is the first book in a trilogy chronicling the early months of the Pacific War in the lead up to the Battle of the Coral Sea.

This volume chronicles aerial warfare in the South Pacific from December 1941 until March 1942, during which air operations by both sides became a daily occurrence. As Imperial Japanese Navy flying boats and land-based bombers penetrated over vast distances, a few under-strength squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force put up a spirited fight.