Ammunition for the 8.8 cm and 10.5 cm guns came assembled and was loaded in one operation after which the breach would be closed with a single rotation of its operating lever. The gun was then ready to lay and fire.
A good loader could theoretically trip the cartidge extractors automatically closing the breach and saving one operation but doing so would require cleaning of all protective grease, of which generally there was a considerable amount, from the breech mechanism. So the 3-4 second figure is probably very optimistic and unsustainable for any length of time.
Getting the gun ready for the opening round and securing it after the action probably took some time as well. There are incidents recorded of failing to remove the tampion (muzzle cap) before firing which likely resulted in the muzzle being shot off. Other instances of burst barrels might be attributed to excessive corrosion in the tube or the build-up of solidified grease creating overpressure behind the shell and causing the tube to fail.
I would guess that 5-rounds per minute for the 8.8 (12-seconds) and 4 for the 10.5 (15 seconds) is probably very generous in the real world. I use 20 and 30 seconds respectively but then almost never use the gun in action.
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