868 TMS

The 868th Tactical Missile Squadron (868 TMS) was a United States Air Force unit with a distinguished service record. Originally activated as the 868th Bombardment Squadron in 1943, it earned the nickname "Snoopers" for its pioneering use of radar-equipped B-24 Liberators in night intruder and sea-search missions in the Southwest Pacific during World War II. Reactivated during the Cold War, the squadron was redesignated as the 868th Tactical Missile Squadron, operating MGM-13 Mace cruise missiles from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, as part of the USAF's tactical nuclear deterrence in the Pacific. The unit was inactivated in 1966 as part of the phaseout of the Mace missile system.