Mason Mathews Patrick (December 13, 1863 – January 29, 1942) was a general officer in the United States Army who led the United States Army Air Service during and after World War I and became the first Chief of the Army Air Corps when it was created on July 2, 1926.

He was born and educated in Lewisburg, West Virginia, and at age 18 entered U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he finished second in his class. Early in his career, he served as chief engineer for the Army of Cuban Pacification and 1st U.S. Army Engineers on the U.S.-Mexico border. He served in France during World War I and was appointed Chief of Air Service by General Pershing in May 1918. Under his direction the Air Service established experimental facilities at Wright Field, Ohio, and San Antonio, Texas.

In 1926, Patrick drafted and proposed the Air Corps Act (44 Stat. 780) to the Military Affairs Committee of the Congress. The act created the United States Army Air Corps from the existing Air Service. Patrick served as commander of the Air Corps until his retirement in 1927. He died in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 1942. The Patrick Space Force Base in Brevard County, Florida, is named for him.

Mason Mathews Patrick was born in Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, on December 13, 1863, to Alfred Spicer Patrick and Virginia (Mathews) Patrick. His father was a surgeon in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. His paternal grandfather, Spicer Patrick, served in the Virginia General Assembly during the American Civil War on the side of the Union, and was later the first speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates on the creation of that state in 1863. His maternal grandfather, Mason Mathews, served in the Confederate Virginia House of Delegates. In Lewisburg, Patrick attended local public and private schools and on graduation taught for two years at his former high school.

Patrick, at age 18, entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on July 1, 1882. Patrick excelled at West Point in mathematics and engineering, and he was reported to have spoken excellent French. Biographer Robert P. White described young Patrick as "well read, almost Renaissance in nature." Outside of the classroom, he received numerous demerits for misconduct; his infractions included tobacco use, use of profanity, lateness, two citations for "sliding down the banister," and he was cited 24 times for being improperly dressed. At the academy, he became a friend to classmate John J. Pershing. Pershing and Patrick held the top two posts in their senior class, being first and second captains of the Corps of Cadets, respectively. On graduation, Patrick's high standing allowed him to choose a career in engineering. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of Engineers on June 12, 1886. The following three years he attended the Engineer School of Application, Willets Point, New York, graduating in June 1889. He was promoted to first lieutenant the following July.

He returned to West Point as an instructor in 1892, spending the next three years teaching engineering. Patrick was involved in Mississippi River improvements from 1897 to 1901, and after two years in the office of the Chief of Engineers, he again returned to the West Point faculty in 1903. He was promoted to major in 1904. He was the chief engineer for the Army of Cuban Pacification from 1907 to 1909 and then worked on river and harbor projects in Virginia (1909–1912) and Michigan (1912–1916). He was also a member of a board directing the raising of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor (1910–1912). During this period, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1910 and colonel on March 24, 1916, and found himself in command of the 1st U.S. Army Engineers serving on the U.S.-Mexico border in that same year.

Patrick was promoted to brigadier general on August 5, 1917. He was sent to France that month after America declared war on Germany on August 6 and in September was named Chief Engineer of Lines of Communication and Director of Construction and Forestry of the American Expeditionary Forces.

In May 1918, Patrick was appointed by his old classmate General John J. Pershing to command the combined Air Service, and subsequently promoted to temporary major general in June. Patrick replaced general Benjamin Foulois as commander, as Pershing had felt staff planning under Foulois had been inefficient, with considerable internal friction as well as conflict between its members and those of Pershing's General Staff. Pershing also felt aircraft and unit totals lagged far behind those promised by Foulois. Considerable house-cleaning of the existing staff resulted from Patrick's appointment, bringing in experienced staff officers to administrate, and tightening up lines of communication. The situation at Air Service headquarters was described as "a tangled mess" before Patrick was brought in. Pershing acknowledged that Foulois requested relief before he was replaced, but the request came only after Foulois became aware of the severity of Pershing's displeasure and attempts in April to rein in his own staff had failed.^{[citation needed]}