The artillery barracks on Passeig Torras i Bages, unveiled in 1929, were incorporated into the military uprising of 18 July 1936. Falangist soldiers and volunteers built fortifications around the Sant Andreu barracks to protect the large amount of weapons stored there. The Republicans bombarded the barracks on 19 July, using aircraft taken from El Prat Airport. The militants were able to push the rebels back inside the barracks. General Legorburu encouraged volunteers to flee the barracks. On 20 July, the militants managed to storm the barracks and seize 30,000 of the guns inside. At the end of 1936, the Republicans constructed military equipment there. The Sant Andreu barracks, governed by the Ministry of Defence, ceased to be operative in 1998 and were demolished in 2004. Bomb shelters (Spanish Civil War) During the Spanish Civil War, Sant Andreu was a significant target for the air fleet of the rebel army due to the artillery barracks and the conversion of metallurgic industries into military equipment factories. Passive defence tests and bombing drills were carried out to prepare the population. The city council built many public shelters and converted the metro tunnels into safe areas in the case of bombing. Improvised shelters were also made in the basements of houses. The district of Sant Andreu had the largest number of shelters: 344 were counted.