Illustration of the Hamburg-American Liner 'Deutschland', launched in 1900 and holder of the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing from 1900-1906. In September 1900, 'Deutschland' crossed the Atlantic in 5 days and 7 hours, at an average of 23.36 knots. She was designed for speed, which inevitably meant some compromise on passenger comfort, so she was not the most popular vessel then running the Atlantic.