What did the Soviets do, if anything, to counteract these things? Did they dump them on our boats?
I worked for a military contractor at the time.
I don’t know if the Rooskis used them on us, but at under $10 per clapper, you literally drop a few hundred at a time. Any that went to the bottom of the ocean were just the cost of doing business. It’s like shooting a machine gun, you know most of the rounds aren’t hitting the target, but one hit is all you need.
That would be about the only thing DoD ever bought for us for $10 that effective.