Jerauld Richard "Jerry" Gentry (May 16, 1935 – March 3, 2003) was a United States Air Force (USAF) test pilot and Vietnam combat veteran.

The lifting body program, operated jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Air Force, performed the initial manned tests to evaluate the feasibility of landing a wingless spacecraft on a pre-determined runway.

The M2-F3, the last of the heavyweight lifting bodies used in the program, was built from the wreckage of the M2-F2 and modified with an additional third vertical fin to improve handling characteristics.

[18] While working on the lifting body program, Gentry earned a master's degree in aerospace systems management from the University of Southern California.

[2] In January 1971, Gentry was assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand where he flew more than 200 combat missions in the F-4 Phantom during the Vietnam War.

As a Fast Forward Air Controller (FAC), Gentry earned the Silver Star—the United States' third highest military decoration for valor.

[2][19] After returning to the United States, Gentry held a leadership role in the Air Force's Lightweight Fighter program that produced the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

He also served as an aerial combat commander at the Red Flag tactical training exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

[2] On August 11, 1980, Gentry was named commander of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

[22] In 1969, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots presented Gentry with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award for his work on the NASA/Flight Research Center (FRC) Lifting Body Program.