Air Marshal Sir Patrick Henry Lyon Playfair, KBE, CB, CVO, MC (22 November 1889 – 23 November 1974) was a commander in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force until his retirement during the Second World War.

Sir Patrick Playfair
Patrick Playfair in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War
Nickname(s)	Pip
Born	(1889-11-22)22 November 1889
Died	23 November 1974(1974-11-23) (aged 85) Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army (1910–18) Royal Air Force (1918–42)
Years of service	1910–1942
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands held	Air Forces in India (1940–42) Advanced Air Striking Force (1939–40) No. 1 Group RAF (1938–39) No. 3 Group RAF (1936–38) Western Area (1933–36) No. 23 Group RAF (1932–33) RAF Transjordan and Palestine (1928–29) RAF Leuchars (1922–25) No. 1 Flying Training School RAF (1919–22) Central Flying School (1919) No. 13 Wing RFC (1916–18) No. 8 Squadron RFC (1916)
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (2) Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class with Swords (Russia) Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)

In 1945 Playfair published Warfare Today: How Modern Battles Are Planned and Fought on Land, at Sea, and in the Air,^[1] co-written by Major General J. F. C. Fuller and Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon.