yer i had the same opinion as you adlabs, the putty/tape was applied to smoothen the fuselage out and therefore reduce drag on recessed/extruding items, i believe a great case of testing drag on rivets was done with split peas
although they might have achieved less drag still if they had boiled them and turned them into a paste which then could be smoothed over the rivet heads and subsequently hardened. can make the difference between as little as 0.1mph faster per rivet, and in a dogfight you want the speed so you can hit and run, and hit again and............ its repeatable! speed in tight situation = survival. think i've got rid of all the key words i want to use
