The following passage comes from Shirley Andrews’s Atlantis: Insights from a Lost Civilization.

In 52,000 B.C., as dangerous beasts made daily life miserable in Atlantis, it became important to consult with others, often in distant places, who were similarly threatened. Since those they wished to confer with did not have adequate means of transportation to their country, the innovative Atlanteans devised a method of conveying them. Stitching the skins of large animals together to form balloons, they created unique vehicles for transportation in the air, similar to zeppelins. The shape of the craft was determined by the proportions of the animal from whose skin it was made; therefore, some dirigibles resembled elephants or mastodons, and others looked like giant bears. Edgar Cayce carefully describes the techniques Atlanteans utilized to temper metals to make strong lights braces for these unusual crafts. He says they filled the shells of these immense, strange balloons with a gas that lifted them just enough to move in the air close to the ground while carrying several passengers. He also mentions Atlantean planes, which were capable of traveling underwater and were useful for transporting destructive weapons for fighting the threatening beasts.

Atlantis: Insights of a Lost Civilization, by Shirley Andrews, Llewellyn Publications: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2001, pages 150-151.

I can’t really imagine what the large beasts looked like, but I tried anyway in the picture below. The beasts must have been ferocious.

I should note that the nuclear armament I drew dangling from the hot air balloon might be inaccurate. According to Andrews Atlanteans did have nuclear power which “proved valuable for destroying large animals” (163). Atlanteans dropping nukes from hot air balloons is purely my speculation, but it does seem probable.

Click the picture for a larger version.