Dudley Vivian Peyton-Ward CBE (8 October 1893 – 6 July 1976) was a Royal Navy officer who served in both the First World War and during and after the Second World War. Peyton-Ward was most famous for his work as Naval Liaison Officer to RAF Coastal Command. The work he performed in this capacity was of utmost importance to the smooth functioning of Coastal Command operations, tactics and weapons (see: Coastal Command weapon development. Among other things, he personally championed and facilitated the increased use of Very Long Range aircraft, such as the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. These aircraft allowed continual air cover over the Atlantic and closed the notorious Mid-Atlantic gap, where Axis U-boats could freely operate against Allied convoys.