A post I'll link at the end has a photo of a massive fortified anti aircraft base from world war 2 and inside the theres a photo of the "gun" which is absurdly large, and since it would maintain a ballistic trajectory, it's not just gonna go straight into the ground, it would decimate numerous houses if they were in line with the shell's path.
Was it just "it's okay to fire in that direction but not the other direction." ? Or was it more like you see in tank warfare movies where they calculate a more precise shot each time? Obviously more rapid fire anti-aircraft guns wouldn't do that (think Cuba Gooding Jr in pearl harbor) but that's at sea and the ammunition wouldn't be as massive as the weapon pictured.
Also I'm curious where this photo was taken, does anyone know?
Anti-aircraft artillery typically fired high explosive or shrapnel shells that were fused or timed to explode at certain altitudes, rather than on contact. While this did mean that shrapnel peices would fall back to earth, you wouldn't typically have to worry about an intact shell.
That photo is a German Flaktower, specifically a 1st Generation 'G' tower, which housed the main battery and was paired with a nearby 'L' tower with searchlights and fire control. It could therefore be the ones in Berlin at the Tiergarten, Friedrichshain or Humboldthain, or the Hamburg one at Heiligengeistfeld. Looking at maps and modern pictures, Hamburg seems likely.
